Stories of us: Jodie
Hi, my name is Jodie. I work as a nurse. I’ve been starting to get more serious about my own faith and wanting to reach out to others. Here’s my first ever “official” sharing of Jesus with someone.
In late March a work colleague, whom I’ll call Mark, came over to my desk and said: “Can I ask you about your faith?” He said that throughout his life he’d been searching for something, and now was the time to find out what the truth was. Ironically, the previous evening in my Evangelistic Prayer Team (EPT) we’d done a session on how to explain what Christians believe. It blew my mind how God made everything fall perfectly in place.
What struck Mark in that conversation was: grace. There were things in his background he regretted, and to know he could be forgiven and have a fresh start with Jesus – these were radical ideas for him. Mark had some Bible knowledge, but he thought you had to earn your way into heaven. Mark had been asking my Christian line manager questions about their faith the day before.
Two days after our conversation, Mark messaged me to say he’d become a follower of Jesus. Mark has also been sharing his new beliefs with his family.
Again, everything fell perfectly into place. In our EPT, we completed a session on: “When an adult becomes a Christian”, so Mark and I had a discussion about church. He’s been attending one online. I pray he will settle in once COVID is over.
I know God changes hearts and my role isn’t to push or pressure, but to lovingly plant the seeds. I’m just grateful for the way that God had been turning the soil in preparation in Mark’s life. And also in my own. Those learning sessions couldn’t have been more perfectly timed!