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Mickie O'Donnell
Minister of
Spiritual Formation
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Wondering about Testimonies
When I was growing up, I remember Sunday was a very special family day. We would go to church and Sunday school. I can remember sitting with my parents in the church pew and we would sing hymns, listen to the sermon and pray together. I can remember the warm feeling I would get putting my head on my mother’s shoulder or having my father put his arm around me during the sermon. When I was young I didn’t understand much of the words, but I did understand that this time was important to my parents and I picked up a sense of that importance just by being there with them. I learned to enjoy the hymns and loved it when I could say “The Lord’s Prayer” or “The Apostle’s Creed” without looking at the words. I have a distinct memory of my mother wearing white gloves and always having a handkerchief because she used to cry a lot during the prayer time. As a young girl I used to try to wear my gloves and hold my hankie the same way my mom did during prayers, always watching her out of one eye to be sure I looked “repentant” enough. After church we’d come home to the smell of Pot Roast ready in the oven. We’d change our clothes, read the “funnies,” eat a wonderful meal, take a nap and then get ready to go to church again for hymn singing and testimony night! I loved hymn singing and hearing the testimonies of people whose lives were changed because of Jesus. For a few years, my mom and dad were testimony “givers” as they themselves were a remarkable “testimony” of God’s grace and salvation. I’ve been told that as a 3 year old, I would sit on the “stage” under the pulpit when my parents were speaking and smile at the congregation, swinging my legs while they told the story of God’s saving them, their marriage and our family. Hmmmnnn - I guess I’ve never been shy about being “up front.”
As a teenager, I believe it was the testimonies of other people in the church that helped me understand my own spiritual journey. Hearing other people talk about their struggles, God’s hand of grace in their life and the power and strength that came from their journey always gave me a wonderful sense of how true the Words of Scripture are. Spiritual “giants” weren’t just Biblical characters to me, they were my neighbors, my church family and my parent’s friends. I could identify with some of their stories and it gave me hope for my own story. Then, when I was 12 years old, I started going with my father to Pacific Garden Mission to participate in the “Unshackled!” radio dramas- the true stories of real people who were un-shackled from their sin through the saving power of Jesus Christ. Week after week we would dramatize these stories and I have never lost my love of hearing testimonies.
So now I wonder - where are the testimonies of the people at WPC? Surely we have them. I have heard a few, one on one and I have been blessed. Have we forgotten that God has called us to be His “witnesses”? Being a witness means sharing your testimony. What is your story? Someone needs to hear it.
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