How I Met Jesus
By Hotlin Sitorus, Medan, Sumatra
When I think about how I met Jesus, I have a flashback to my childhood. When I was six years old, my siblings and I had to wake up at 5am every day. We started our day with a short prayer led by our mom and we couldn’t miss it - no excuses allowed. After prayer time, we did our other activities. Every Sunday, we went to church and sometimes, when my mom didn’t have enough money for a bus, we would walk the 2kms to church. Again, we weren’t allowed to miss church – no excuses. Every night, we had a short devotion which my mom led. She taught us how to pray and let us lead the prayer. So, I first learnt about Jesus from my mom. She told us many stories about people in the Bible. She told us wonderful stories that made us want to listen more and more.
As time went by, I developed a heart condition and when I felt tightness in my chest, I called Jesus name in my heart, came to Him praying and crying in a darkened room. I called His name and would suddenly feel peace in my heart and my mind. I tried to find why the peace came but I couldn’t understand this with my brain.
When I was nineteen, I joined a church organization that cared for very poor people who lived in seedy places. I learnt even more about the love of Jesus from them. They told me that even when they were going through very difficult times, they could feel Jesus accompanying them. I tried to find the reason for this feeling, but I couldn’t find it. Jesus came to my heart and I could feel Him, but not understand it.
Three years ago, in March 2020, I went through a hard time. I became ill and because of covid, sick people were hospitalized and put in isolation. The doctor came to visit after 4-5 days and wanted to put me in hospital. I didn’t want to go. He gave me medicine and left. The medicine didn’t help and I lost a lot of weight and dropped from 55kgs to 40kgs in a few days. I was very ill and dying. My husband and children were so worried.
I almost forgot my Jesus but my four children reminded me of His love. They held my hand and prayed for me. In the middle of the night, I called on Jesus and told Him that He couldn’t leave me with this illness. I cried and prayed, asking Him to give me a miracle and to show me a doctor who could help me. After praying, I suddenly felt calm and slept well for the first time.
In the morning, I asked my husband to take me to a midwife to check me. She was surprised that I was still alive with this illness. I had Dengue and Typhoid. I stayed at home without visitors and the midwife came four times/day to give me injections and medicine. Every time I drank the medicine, I asked God to give me a miracle. The midwife took care of me for almost three weeks and I stayed in bed for almost three months until I was healed.
Meeting Jesus has been a wonderful time for me, from my childhood till now. I have met rich people and poor people and at every time and in every condition, I have met Jesus.
Knowing Him makes me realise one thing – I am here to help other people know Jesus and experience Him with their hearts and minds. Even if others leave me, Jesus is there to care for me and show me the way. For me, Jesus is only a prayer away.