Testimony
Just a short background on giving my life to the Lord by Nathan
There's nothing more motivating for me than listening to personal testimonies about how the Lord works in peoples lives.
I gave my life to the Lord when I was very young about 10 years of age. Sitting next to my Dad in the old Chapel as he worked the sound desk listening to Eric Eachus preach, I said the prayer with him committing my life to our Lord Jesus as he gave a call to the altar.
As I grew up over the years became very lost in my faith, as the teen years came hanging out the wrong people etc. I'm not going to dive into that today as will be here for a long time. I'll have to give a whole another testimony on that. This testimony is more focused on what the Lord has done in our almost short 7 years of marriage.
Kirsten and I come from very different backgrounds, culturally but we have only grown from strength to strength in our relationship. You wouldn't think in today's time as a mixed-race couple you'll still get stared at as you walked through the mall. We have grown to love one another unconditionally and the Lord is in the centre of it all.
Her family comes from a Pentecostal background, and she grew up in a strong Christian home. Her Grandfather was a pastor of an Acts mission Church which he built in Hanover Park. Kirsten had a very strict up bringing with her grandfather, you went to Church wether you liked it or not. She gave her life to the Lord when she was 17 years old at Good Hope Christian Centre.
We got married on the 24th August 2019, we had a beautiful wedding with our close family and friends. The Lord has kept his promise and been so good and faithful to us over the years. We weren't dating for long and I already knew Kirsten was the one. Only 6 months into dating, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. I had been in some tough past relationships and really asked God to send me the right one this time and boy did he deliver.
I feel when we first got married our Christian life was very lukewarm so to say, Kirsten at first wasn't keen on Medway after being a couple of times, and we did a fair amount of Church shopping until I started coming to back to Medway more often and soon every week just about. I would say to her just come give it another chance promise you'll start to enjoy it. And before we knew it, we had both fallen in love with the Medway family, the sense of community and caring for one another you won't find anywhere else.
We both very fond of kids and really wanted to be parents straight away, we basically tried for a child from the moment we were married. I'll never forget in a wedding card we received from her late father at the end it said "Now let's have a grand baby"
We carried on trying in our first few years of being married but nothing was happening, I prayed a lot about it asking the Lord to bless us when the time was right and tried to keep faith that it will be in his time. Watching friends and family fall pregnant all around us wasn't easy, when that time of the month came for her every month, we would feel disappointed, sometimes she would be a couple days late and will get our hopes up only to be disappointed a few days later again.
We thought it was time to see a doctor, so we set up an appointment with a gynecologist to have ourselves checked out, all seemed to be in order. Kirsten was given some medication to do what I'm not sure, but it was meant to help with the process. It made her not her normal self and we decided for to stop taking it. Another year or two passed and still nothing...
I had a big turning point in my faith a few years ago when I bumped into an old friend in the mall. Mr Price of course, My sister always use to drag me around the shops as a kid and would hate it, always complained. Now my Wife does the same to me LOL.
Anyway, I bumped into Declin (Freddies cousin) he's a few years younger than me, we went to the same college. He was a Christian as well and we got chatting, He always seemed so strong in his faith to me and way ahead from where I was. Opening up to him about our struggle he had a similar story to tell about his struggle having kids as well. I could really relate to him being of more or less the same age he had my attention. We had a long chat and the one thing I took from our conversation which stuck in my head till this day is that (THE LORD WANTS ALL OF YOU) I even sent him a message a few days later and he told me that it was the Holy Spirit.
As this year started, we were still having no luck. In my coffee dates with Maurice I would ask him to pray for us. Uncle Aldo prayed for us too during our visits with him.
We went to see Dr Chella (Explain) The same doctor my dad goes to for his kidneys. She's a GP but went down the homeopathic route. Funny thing is she specialises in helping women fall pregnant and women hormonal health, Anyway we started going to her and she did blood tests on Kirsten checked my previous results out etc. After going for 2 acupuncture sessions and hearing the results from the blood tests for Kirsten on the second session, she told us that Kirsten Vitamin D was very low and her estrogen was too high. After the appointment as we were about to leave, I asked her straight. What are our chances right now? She is a brutally honest person and will tell you how it is no beating around the bush. She said for now your chances are very low, give it at least 3 months until you try probably again the supplements still need to kick in etc. Again, feeling disappointed, but I walked away thinking and feeling we serve a higher power, and I know he'll grant us a little one when the time is right. I used to wake up during the night and pray to the Lord for a good couple of hours pleading with him to bless us.
After that appointment we had already decided to get baptised to show our full commitments to our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. We were baptised at Fish Hoek beach on the 6th of March earlier this year. It all just felt so right at the time and was very special for us in our walk with Jesus.
Very soon after that literally the week after, Kirsten was late again. We waited a few days and prayed about it, she was keen to take a test, but I just said wait a bit longer. A week later and still that time of the month never arrived. So, the next morning we took a test very early in the around 5 am she put the test on my desk as I worked with some admin, and Lord behold 2 lines appeared. We cried together with tears of joy as we went to sit on the bed almost in disbelieve, we prayed together and thanked the Lord for his goodness and Faithfulness to us.
As I walked up to the church that morning to open the gate for my brother as our cars where parked here because we were paving, walking back rejoicing to the Lord a song popped in my head. Goodness of God, ALL MY LIFE YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL, ALL MY LIFE YOU BEEN SO SO GOOD WITH EVERY BREATH THAT I AM ABLE I WILL SING OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD!
Reflecting, you always hear others saying you'll look back and realise the time isn't right and this is true. The Lord is working behind the scene all the time. Kirsten and I always struggled to pray together as a couple now it's part of our daily lives.
I would like to read A few scriptures before closing, remember my friend in the mall mentioning "THE LORD WANTS ALL OF YOU"
First being in the gospel of Mathew CH 6 VS 32 and 33 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Referring to us being lukewarm Christians after being married, I want to leave this thought with you for the week ahead.
Lukewarm, it's funny because it came up in our Bible study a few weeks back. And we referenced it in the book of revelation. John mentioned all the different types of churches. Chapter 3 from VS 14, I'll read vs 15 and 16.
I KNOW YOUR WORKS, THAT YOU ARE NEITHER COLD NOR HOT. I WISH YOU WERE COLD OR HOT. VS:16 SO THEN, BECAUSE YOU ARE LUKEWARM AND NEITHER COLD NOR HOT, I WILL VOMIT YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH.
So are you lukewarm or cold or are you HOT for the Lord Jesus!
