Lake Rotoiti is a glacial lake in the mountains, a two-hour drive southwest of Blenheim, New Zealand, where I grew up. When I was a child, our family often holidayed there in our caravan. Later, while attending Marlborough Girls' College, I joined the other fourth-form girls for a week-long science field trip there.
We stayed at "The Lodge", a mountain retreat with dormitories that could sleep over 100 people. The hall, where most indoor activities took place, had huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lake and the St Arnaud Range. Over the next few years, I attended numerous Scripture Union, church, youth, and Easter camps there, all held at The Lodge. It became a spiritual hub for me.
I was deeply impacted by the many people who testified about how their lives had been transformed when they asked Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour. I felt inadequate, though, because I had grown to know Jesus gradually throughout my childhood, slowly developing my faith. I thought I didn't have a testimony.
Then, at one of these camps, I remember running down to the lake before dawn one morning to sit at the end of the jetty and watch the sunrise light up the peak of Mount Robert with its golden glow. I took my Braille Bible and was reading John 4, the story of the woman at the well.
It was a light-bulb moment for me. I realised that giving your testimony isn't about telling how bad you were and then how Jesus made you good. It's about telling others what Jesus has done for you.
He has forgiven my sin. He has given me eternal life. He gives me courage every day to walk this journey through blindness with Him.
Acts 10:43 says:
"He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name."
Do you believe in Jesus? Have you asked Him to forgive your sins? Tell someone today and testify about what Jesus has done for you.
Devotional written by Jacqui Gardner