Anita Bellesfield’s Testimony

Anita Bellesfield’s Testimony Don’t Be Foolish and Wait, Like I Did. Tomorrow MayBe Too Late.

My name is Anita Bellesfield, and this is my story.

As a young girl growing up, I was somewhat of a tomboy. My familymoved a lot and every new neighborhood was like the last – all boysand no girls. Therefore, I ended up hanging out with the boys. Theonly time I ended up looking like a girl was on Sunday mornings. Ihad to go to Sunday school and church, even though I always found thesermons boring and never wanted to go. But, my mother believed thatgoing to church on Sunday mornings, and especially on religiousholidays, would make me a better person. Once I turned 14 and wasconfirmed, though, I decided that religion wasn’t for me.

At age 16, I became pregnant and married my baby’s father.When I was five months pregnant, he walked out on me. Soonafter my daughter was born, my mother insisted that the baby bebaptized. In my family, you did this as soon as possible, becausethey believed that if any thing happened, and the baby died young,the baptism would assure that the child would go to heaven. I neitherunderstood, or agreed with this, but I did have my daughter baptized.

During the years I was raising my daughter, there were a fewoccasions I went to church services with a friend or relative. Thesewere usually weddings, or a confirmation, or some other specialoccasion. Just as when I was younger, the services left me bored.Those few times in church only served to turn me further from wantingto go back. I just couldn’t understand what people got from a45-minute “story time” sermon that did not apply to the scripturecited.

At the age of 27 I got married again. My husband was the mostloving and patient person I had ever known. Spiritually, though, myhusband was where I was – we had no religion. We bothbelieved that God exists, but we couldn’t get past merely talkingabout going to church. After we had been settled in our homefor a while, our neighbor’s son, who was a pastor, came over to talkto my husband about God and other spiritual matters while I was outfor the evening. He was still there when I returned home, so I satdown and listened to what he had to say. I took to heart what I heardthat evening and was determined to find a church to attend. Againtime just passed by and we did little more than just talk aboutchurch.

About that time a co-worker began to talk to me about the need tobe saved. She showed me in the Bible, in Acts, chapter 2, verse 21,where it said, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shallcall on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Note: “Saved”is a biblical term referring to the forgiveness of sins by God andthe rescue of a person from the power and penalty of that sin. Thisis God’s requirement for everlasting life.) But, remembering mypast experiences with church, and the emptiness that I was left with,I told her she could keep her religion to herself. Deep down inside,though, I was curious as to what “being saved” was all about. Like inmany families, though, I grew up thinking that if you had a Bible inthe house you had to be “all right” with God.

I worked for a nursing home for almost 19 years. Every morningthey had a 20-minute church service which came over the publicaddress system for everyone there to hear. What I basically heardwas, just be a good person and you will get into Heaven. While Istill thought about what my co-worker had said about the necessity tobe saved, I did not want to believe that either.

In 1987, I was away for a three-day weekend of drinking andpartying. I was very involved with the union I belonged to and thisweekend was typical of the way I spent my time. Halfwaythrough the weekend, I found out my younger sister had been killed ina car accident. I was devastated. My heart was broken and apart of me seemed to have died with her. I remember the minister atthe funeral service saying that she was in heaven because she hadbeen a good person. I wanted very much to believe that was true. Ikept wondering how I could find out if that was the truth. I couldonly hope that she was at peace.

A year later, I was still questioning whether my sister was inHeaven – and whether that would be where I would go.

In July of 1988, two men from the Lehigh Valley Baptist Churchknocked on our door, saying they wanted to talk to us about oureternity. I was recovering from minor surgery that day and my husbandasked them to return in a couple of weeks. I really did not expectthem to return, partly because of my past experiences with church,and partly because of what they might say about where my sister was.They did return, though, and we sat and listened to what they had tosay about how we could be sure of our eternity. My questions aboutheaven, and where I would go when I die were answered. It says in theBible, in John, chapter 14, verse 2, “In my house there are manymansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare aplace for you.” My husband accepted Christ as his personalSavior a few months after that. He began to show me verses in theBible and tried to convince me that I needed to be saved also. But, Ialways had excuses for putting it off. It was hard to shake my pastexperiences, and I was sure that nothing would be different in mylife even if I did get saved. I was now sure my sister was not inheaven. For many restless months I pictured her in hell with all theother members of my family that had passed away. I also realized thatmy loved ones who were still alive were heading there themselves.

I was haunted by the thought and knew that I did not want to go tohell. Finally, one night I knelt by my bed and asked God to forgivemy sins, and I accepted Christ as my personal Savior. Finally, I knewI was saved and that I had a place waiting for me in heaven.

I became a new person that night in June of 1989.As the Bible says in Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17,“therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old thingsare passed away; Behold, all things are become new.”

Soon my interest in union activities and the drinking, partyingand weekends away from my husband vanished. I no longer used foullanguage and I no longer had the desire to be like the rest of theworld. I had been a lost person because I loved the world more than Iloved God. First John 2 15-16 says, “Love not the world, neitherthe things that are in the world, the love of the Father is not inhim. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and thelust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the father, but isof the world.”

It was clear to me that I had been so caught up in possessions,work and money, that I had neglected my spiritual needs and the needto know for sure where my spirit would go when I died. At age 37, Ibecame a child of God and my whole outlook changed. For my whole lifeI had not wanted to believe I was a sinner. But the scriptures spoketo me –“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”Romans 3:23.

Please don’t be foolish and wait like I did. Tomorrowcould be too late. “Whereas ye know not what shall be onthe morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appearethfor a little while, then vanisheth away” James 4:14.

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