|
|
If my testimony can help people to seek the Lord, I’d be happy to submit it. God Bless. John McLernon My Testimony From a young age, my family and I went to church every Sunday. We weren't what you would call a religious family. My mum never forced religion on to us. I was born in Belfast, N. Ireland on 13th May 1977. In 1982 our family moved to New York. We moved to a small town in upstate New York. This is the time of my life that I completely remember. Around the age of 7 I had started to fall into the wrong crowd of friends. Not all my friends were bad, but most were. I started to do some really stupid things. I started stealing from shops and from my family. (not usually the typical 7 yr old thing to do) On a number of occasions I went into a shop and asked for a bag to put my sweater in, and then proceeded to the toy section where I filled the bag with toys. Then with a full bag of toys, or as much as I could carry, I walked out the front door. I continued to lie and steal from shops and family until I was about 14, after being caught on numerous occasions. After spending a year in N. Ireland when I was 10, we moved to a small town in Connecticut. Once again I fell into the wrong crowd of friends, but just like before they weren't all bad. I started smoking at 11 and on occasion had some alcohol. You may be wondering where I got the alcohol and cigarettes. Well, I either stole money to buy cigarettes or stole them from my step dad. I got the alcohol from our house or from friends. There was one time I actually brought alcohol into school (8th grade). I was suspended from school on a number of occasions from 6th-9th grade. The reasons were different: stealing, having cigarettes and bringing a knife into school. I took my sisters car for a drive a few times as well. By the time I was 15 I had totally disbelieved in God. I had been arrested twice. Once for domestic violence and one for Criminal trespassing and vandalism. I ran away from home when I was 15 for about four days. During this time, I pierced my ear and pierced it again 2 weeks later. I continued on like this until 8th August 1992. My girlfriend at the time had gone away on holiday and her parents entrusted me to feed their dog and let him out during the day. While they were gone I had friends over their house and stole their car n a few occasions. About a week before they were due to be home, my friends and I fond a gun and decided to shoot it in the back garden. We then put it back where we found it. Sunday, 22nd August 1992 I brought my friend with me over to the house. We shot the gun a few times and then put it away again. I then went upstairs and my friend unloaded the gun downstairs. He then followed me upstairs and, thinking that the gun was empty, pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger. What he didn't know was that there was one bullet left in the chamber. I was hit in the neck and suddenly fell to the floor. I had no idea what happened. All I knew was that I couldn't breathe or move and my friend was hysterical. Shortly after calling 911, the ambulance arrived rushed me to the hospital. I blacked out shortly after being shot, and the next thing I remember is being in the hospital with my parents at my feet and a doctor pricking my face to see if I felt it. I didn't. I had a C3 spinal cord injury. The injury left me paralysed from the shoulders down and ventilator dependant. Not much unlike Christopher Reeve. I was in hospital for about six months. Around month four I started to come off the ventilator for a few minutes. Over the following 7 months I came of the ventilator completely. Shortly after that we moved back to Belfast. You would think that something like that would make you believe in God. Well, not entirely. I started to believe a little but never fully. It wasn't until April 1997 that I fully believed in God and received Christ as my Saviour. A man came and saw me in hospital and on that day I was born again. Christ accepted me and I accepted Him. I try not to have any regrets in my life, but to be honest there are a few. I regret that I never took the time to know God sooner. I regret the fact that I wasted 5 years that I could have used to get to know my step dad, disrespecting and disliking him. And I regret the fact of not seeing how much my mum loved me, and how much my behaviour hurt her. It took me getting shot to see all the things that were already there before but I didn't see them. I love my family very much and I thank God everyday for them. Jesus said that He would never leave us or forsake us. This is true. He is always there, all we need to do is ask for forgiveness and invite Him into our hearts and lives. He entered mine, even after all the things I did. We are not perfect and He knows that. He knows that we fall. Every time we fall, He is there to pick us up. Please do not waste time as I did. Ask Him, He will respond. God Bless. Click HERE to return to the edited story Click HERE to create a banner that links to this story! Your e-mail address will be kept private!
HE INVITES, INC., a non-profit corporation.
These testimonies are not intended to provide |
|||||
