In 1960, I was born into a Christian family. My Dad answered the call to preach when I was one year old. A few years later, he answered the call to pastor. He had surrendered his life to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He loved the Lord his God with all his heart.
In 1965, there was a great spiritual awakening in the United States, and there was a great revival happening on Sand Mountain. My Dad was the pastor at Whitesboro Baptist Church. Every time the church family met, someone surrendered their lives to Christ. The altar would fill up with men, women, boys, and girls. We would gather at Mr. Doc Gaskin’s pond almost every Sunday evening for a baptizing. The family of God was growing daily.
Satan tried many times to shake the foundation my Dad was standing on, but he failed miserably.
When I was twelve years old, Satan desired to have me. He planted people in my life that came to me as friends. He had a plan, a scheme, to destroy the righteous man of God. I was young and naïve, so I fell for his scheme and plan and believed the lies he programmed into my head. My new “friends” convinced me that my parents were over-protective, overbearing, trying to push their God down my throat. They programmed me to believe that I was in charge of my life and no one should have authority over me.
I fell for satan’s plan. I rose up against my godly parents, and I rebelled against them, their God, their faith, and the church. By the time I was fifteen years old, I was putting my parents through hell on earth. I was sneaking out of the house, going to parties, drinking, and causing them much suffering and shame. I met a boy and married him when I was sixteen years old. We had a little girl the following year. Finally, I was on my own, living my life, giving no thought to my family or their God.
My Dad resigned from the church he was pastoring.
“For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” 1Timothy 3:5
Two years later, I received word that my Dad had died suddenly from a massive heart attack. I was eighteen, and he was forty-six. I am convinced that he died of a broken heart due to the pain and suffering I had caused him. There is actually a thing called Broken Heart Syndrome. When you have suffered great emotional stress, it can cause your heart to stop.
I attended the funeral. I spoke few words to my Mother and little brothers. I do not remember who spoke at the service or what songs they sang. All I remember about that day was it was raining.
I left the graveside and went back to my home, my husband and our baby. I knew in the depths of my soul that I was responsible for that righteous man’s death, but I refused to go there. Instead, I blamed God. It was easier that way.
Satan was laughing, and hell was rejoicing. The righteous man of God was dead.
Three days after my Dad’s funeral, my husband (the daddy of my baby girl) walked out on me and never looked back. In the course of five days, I had become fatherless, husbandless, a single parent, and homeless.
“The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.” John 10:10
Sin will take you further than you want to go.
I sat in my car with everything I owned in the backseat. I had only one place to go: back to my Mother, the one I had treated so terribly.
You see, as quickly as satan planted those people in my life, he removed them. They were nowhere to be found. I drove to her house, got out of the car, and knocked on her door. When she opened the door, she was crying, I was crying, my baby was on my hip crying, and it was pouring down rain. Mother looked at me and never said a word. She stretched out her arms and took me in. She did not judge me or condemn me; she simply loved me.
She gave us food, shelter, clothes, and unconditional love. She pushed me back to school through two years of college and loved me back to health. She showed me mercy, grace, and forgiveness. She loved like Jesus.
I met someone, and life was better, but something was still missing. We had a three-year courtship, and then we got married. The following year, I gave birth to a son. On the outside, my life looked happy, but on the inside, there was a void.
On a cold January night in 1992, around midnight, I became restless and could not sleep. I had a sadness come over me, and my heart became troubled. You see, the Holy Spirit of God was calling me to surrender my life to Christ. That night, lying on the floor, I repented of my sins, and salvation came. I got up a new creature in Christ. He called me out of the darkness into His marvelous light. He broke every chain that satan had on me, and satan lost my soul that night! I was dancing around my kitchen at one o’clock in the morning.
The first person I wanted to call was my Dad. I will be reunited with that righteous man one glorious day, and he will say, “This is my daughter who was dead but is alive forever more.” We shall spend eternity together because of the blood of Jesus that washed me white as snow, and the prodigal daughter will be at home.
“But, I am come that they might have life abundantly.” John 10:10
“I say to you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety- nine just persons who need no repentance.” Luke 15:7
That same year, my daughter surrendered her life to Christ during our summer revival. My son surrendered his life to Christ in October of that year. My entire household was redeemed! What a wonderful, merciful God we serve. Now Satan wasn’t laughing, and hell wasn’t rejoicing. The devil lost my soul that night in January of 1992. The Lord was laughing, and heaven was rejoicing!
“And, at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God; and the prisoners heard them.” Acts 16:25
My idea of what may have happened next: “…and the Father heard them, and He leaned in and listened to His children praising Him through songs.” Could He have started to sway with the music and pat His foot to the rhythm?
“And suddenly there was a great earthquake and the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors of the prison were opened and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew out his sword and would have killed himself supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice saying, “Do thyself no harm for we are all here!” Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shalt be saved and your entire household.” And they spoke unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them that same hour of the night and washed their stripes where they had been beaten and he and his entire household were baptized. Then he brought them into his home and fed them and rejoiced, believing in God.” Acts 16:26-34
- The ripple effect of Paul and Silas’s praise brought salvation to an entire family.
- My rebellious ways brought pain, suffering, and shame to my family. It caused a negative ripple effect.
- My Mother’s unconditional love brought healing into my heart and soul. It caused a positive ripple effect.
- My choice to serve God planted seeds in my children that led them to salvation.
- Our words and actions have an everlasting ripple effect on everyone around us.
May our ripple bring light into this dark world.
Dana Hill
Lean into Jesus Ministries
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