Start with One

My name is Elliot and I am a 28 year old follower of Jesus Christ. I have faithfully followed the Lord for 14 years after initially giving my life to Him at the age of 14. Prior to giving my life to Him, I identified as a Muslim. I didn’t have a reason why other than family influences. My mom is a Muslim while my dad is a Christian. My mom was born and raised in Morocco while my dad was a Christian from the states. He met my mom while on embassy guard duty as a U.S. Marine. He had to convert to Islam to marry my mom. Naïvely, He did but then converted back once he felt convicted. Though I denied Jesus as Lord at the early stages of my life, I always felt He was divine because of a memory I had of Him on the day I was born. Yes, I have seen Jesus on the day I was born. I am more confident of that than most things in life. I am a twin who was born with birth complications that could have been life threatening. No disabilities, I was stuck in my moms ribs and was not breathing. One night, I remember being inside an incubator-like bed when I noticed a man to my left dressed in a white robe. He had a gold glow around Him. He walked over to my bed and as He walked, the glow followed Him. He came to me and smiled. I remember His nose, His short curly hair, and His smile. He then walked away until He vanished right before my eyes. I have held this memory all my life. I remember while in kindergarten, a teacher asked the class to recall our earliest memory. I thought of that time in the hospital or course, but didn’t know how to explain it. So I didn’t. I truly believe I knew God, before anyone told me who God was. I guess that verse about knowing us before we were in our mothers womb is something to cling to. Though I was told I was a Muslim, I knew something wasn’t right. Nothing compared to the peace of His presence. It’s a peace you get while in deep worship and goosebumps start to pop out. Or when you receive revelation from The Spirit through prayer or when He takes you to the exact page in the Bible that answers your question. I have never told any of my parents this story until I was in my early twenties. My parents never told me about the glass case bed nor any other details about that day at the hospital other than the fact that I almost died. One day I mentioned it to my dad while at a Panera. I only asked if I had to stay over night in a glass container bed. He confirmed the setting. He said with tears “He has never prayed more harder in that time than in any other time in his life”. That memory is what pushed me to give my life to Christ at 14. My dad was always going to church and I wanted to see what the deal was with that as well. I wasn’t finding anything in Islam so I said “ok God, I’m going to hold You accountable to what You say You are in Your bible”. I didn’t want to hear from anyone but Him. “Your word says if I seek I will find and if I knock the door will be opened, right?” “Alright, Here I am.” In short, I surrendered. Completely. There is something truly remarkable about genuine surrender. Needless to say I found Him. It took small steps but I eventually developed a relationship with Him that is powerful. So powerful that He could nudge me before falling asleep to go to a store and look for a man with a beard and a green hat, to receive revelation. (That happened). Knowing Him has got to be the most amazing, wonderful, exciting, and cherished thing I could ever experience or have in this world. The only thing getting in our way of God and all that He has for us is truly, us. It’s us and our lack of faith. I still don’t have faith at times when I should despite all I’ve seen. I think it’s just our sinful nature. But God is Patient. He truly is so patient. And, He is faithful. I love Him so much but honestly, I only get to love Him because He loved me first.