I know it has been almost a year since I have put anything on here and for that I apologize. It has been pretty crazy around here for the last year and I intend to write about those things in the upcoming weeks. I was looking through some old emails/attachments that I had stored on an old thumb drive and found my wife’s testimony of salvation that she wrote out herself when we were first considering the ministry(over 3 years ago now, although we updated the ages of kids and stuff at the end). I trust that you will enjoy.
I was born in Beaufort, S.C. to a lost military family. My sister is 16 months older than I am, so for the most part we were close growing up. She was the leader and I was the follower.
When I was about 5 years old, we lived in Augusta, G.A. because my dad was stationed at Fort Gordon. Two doors down from us was a pastor of a small Baptist Church. He began witnessing to my dad, and over time, my dad got saved! My mom, on the other hand, was not at all happy about it. My dad spent a lot of time studying the Bible and trying to change the way we lived. Eventually, my mom had enough.
While we were stationed in Virginia, our parents informed us that they were getting a divorce. I was one of those kids who thought that it would never happen to my parents, so it really hit me hard. I was only 8 at the time. My mom moved back to Georgia, because we still had a house there, and my dad moved back to Beaufort to the trailer that they lived in when I was born. My sister and I lived with my mom and only saw our dad every other weekend and a few weeks in the summer.
While my dad was in Beaufort, he found Calvary Baptist Church and became a member. I was 10 the very first time I ever walked into this church and it was for Grace Ann Gade’s funeral. She was a baby girl born into Neils Gade’s family with a disease that only allowed her 4 hours of life outside the womb. I remember asking my dad who the mother was, because I could not find anyone who looked like they had just lost a baby. When he pointed her out, I knew he most be wrong because Gwendy was smiling and talking to some other ladies like everything was fine. Dad had explained to me that the reason she was not weeping out of control was because one day she knew that she would see her baby again in Heaven. As a young girl that really impressed me, and to this day I still remember the look of joy and lack of sorrow on her face.
As I grew up, I wanted to be accepted in both homes, so I would dress the part for wherever I was at. I only wore skirts and dresses at dad’s house and pants and shorts at mom’s house. My conversation and attitude was also different. At dad’s house I was the perfect angel, who knew just what to say and do to fit in and not be that weird kid who has divorced parents. And at mom’s house I was less than perfect. My mom had started to date and I was not at all happy about it, so the devilish side of me came out in full bloom.
When I was 11, my sister said she had gotten saved and a few weeks later she was baptized. She also got rid of all her pants and anything that was wrong to have as a Christian. On top of that, she had asked to be homeschooled. Like I said before, I was the follower, so like her I got rid of everything and agreed to be homeschooled. As the months went on, she drew farther and farther away from our dad and Church. She stopped visiting him all together when she was 14 and she went back to public school. By the time she was 15 she was pregnant.
While I still lived somewhat of a double life, I never did go back to public school or wear pants for the most part, but I did do things at mom’s that I would never dream of doing with my friends in Beaufort. The Lord was very gracious to me by sparing me from all the boys around me as a teenager, at both of my parent’s homes. Because of that, I can honestly say my husband is the first and only man I have ever dated.
My sister’s fly- by- night Christianity scared me. I knew from watching the people in church, that what my sister had was not real. I also knew I wanted what they had but was unsure of how to get it. I knew I should be a good example to my lost family because I wanted one day to get saved and I wanted them to get saved as well. One day, my sister and I got into a little fight, I don’t even remember what it was about, but she said something to me that really hit home. She said ‘’You can’t serve 2 masters; you can’t be an angel with dad, and a little devil at mom’s, you need to choose one.’’ For her to say that to me, knowing she had made her choice, really hurt because I knew I would have to leave my sister, my baby brother and my mom, if I was to choose the right path.
Soon after that, while I was at my dad’s house, I started asking him some questions about how to be saved and how to know for sure it’s real. That night I could not fall asleep because my sister’s words kept going through my head…’’ You can’t serve 2 masters….’’ I knew it was time for me to get saved and give my heart fully to the Lord. So, at the age of 14, I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.
Soon after I got saved, my dad and I went to Papua New Guinea for 6 months to help a missionary family, the Fairs. It was great to be part of a real Christian family {that was not broken} and watch and learn how they acted in everyday life. They were a true blessing to be around and I learned a lot from them.
By the time I was 16, I was able to live with my dad full time. My dad lived with another single guy and his 6 year old son, so I had my hands full, with not only my schoolwork, but cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, babysitting and paying bills as well. My dad believed in ‘’Train up a child in the way he should go,’’ and his goal was to prepare me for married live. I enjoyed it and those years of training were a big help.
Kenny and I were engaged when I was 19 and we were married on Nov 15. 2008. Since then we have had 4 boys Donovan {6}, Marshall {5}, Jeremiah {4}, and Isaiah (2). We have been serving in our local church in Brunswick, GA where my husband is poastoring. We look forward to what the Lord might have us do, and we will continue to serve him where we are as best we can.
Sheila Seremak
shodfeet 