Several weeks ago, the pastor of our church asked Alyssa to share her testimony during some Wednesday night church service. She began working on it, and after many, many hours of praying, writing, revising and more prayer, what follows is what she shared last Wednesday. It was a powerful time in Alyssa’s spiritual development as she put words to much of what is going on inside her, and it was a very special moment for Holly and me to see our daughter publicly professing not only her faith in Jesus but also her trust that God is working through her struggles.
The lady standing next to Allie is a dear friend of ours, Donna Salter, who read the Scripture Allie references (Rom.4:25-5:5).
Here is how she began:
Hi my name is Alyssa Belz, I’m 15 and I was asked to give my testimony tonight. I was pretty nervous about sharing my story, but I hope it can be encouraging. You may already know a bit of my story from the letter Ryan and Megan shared a week or 2 ago, but this is more of a picture into my life. By the way, thank you for all your prayers they are very appreciated, and hopefully God will act upon them soon. It’s been a blessing to not only have the church, but have them be so invested in our family. Back to my testimony. I don’t really view my life as particularly special, or remarkable. I figure everybody has their story, but mine is a bit unique as compared with other girls my age.
The first part of my life, I lived in California till I was about 4. I placed my faith in Jesus, and knew I loved him and wanted to live a life for him. I didn’t know what this life would be, but I knew God was going to help me through whatever happened. Then my family and I moved to Africa as missionaries for about 3 years. This was such an amazing experience, and really changed the way I viewed the world. We moved back to America after my mom got sick, and our family finally settled into Olympia Washington. I was 9 at the time, just starting 4th grade. That’s when I got sick. My life really changed from that point on. I had to be pulled out of school many days, and was eventually homeschooled. I lost my friends, and was confused about what was happening. I spent many days in the back of a car, feeling sick on my way to doctor appointments. After a few years of no one knowing what was wrong with me, I started really wondering what God’s plan was. It was so frustrating that I couldn’t do normal activities and I spent many hours laying on my bed crying out to God. Could this be the rest of my life? Laying in my bed, in the same house feeling sick?
I felt like my life was taken from me and all I could do was lay in bed and feel miserable. I wanted to be in heaven with no pain and suffering. Having a Christian walk is not the easiest thing in the world. We are going to be hit with trials and hard circumstances, and it’s during these times that we have to draw near to God most.