He opens the eyes of the blind~ By Amy Sallee

I received a message from Ronda asking if I would give my testimony.  At first I was a little worried because I am not the best of writers, but I was flattered that she had asked.  I have to say Ronda has been such an inspiration to me. 

I guess I will give you a little background info.  My name is Amy Sallee and I am married to Ronda’s brother Paul.  I am an only child and I grew up in a home without religion.  I didn’t really know anything when it came to Christianity.  I didn’t even know the difference between God and Jesus!  I grew up in a home where the Bible was "just a book of good stories."  The only reason I even had a Bible was because my Aunt gave me a Teen Study Bible when I was 13 or so.

So here is my journey to salvation….

I guess it all started when I began dating Paul.  I didn’t know that his dad was a pastor or that he went to church every Sunday.  I remember it was February 2007, and I was dog sitting. Paul was over and we were discussing our plans for the next weekend and he had mentioned that we could hangout after he was done with church.  I did a double take.  For some reason I was curious about church since I really hadn’t been to one as an adult, so I asked if I could go with him.  I was shocked that this came out of my mouth so easily, like asking for a drink of water.  I think the request shocked Paul too because he knew that I wasn’t a Christian. He said yes of course!

I was really nervous about going because not only was I going to church for the first time, but I was also going to meet Paul’s family.  We had only been dating for a few weeks, but meeting the family is a BIG DEAL, and not just his immediate family, but this is the church that he grew up in so I was also meeting his church family. No pressure right!

I had mentioned to Ronda that I was going to go to church with Paul the next week and she was excited for me.  She gave me the low down of the church, “My Mom greets everyone as they come in and my Dad along with preaching leads worship too.”  I remember walking into church and meeting Paul’s mom Marilyn.  She was so nice and gave me a hug that made me feel incredibly welcome.  Once we walked in to sit down I felt like all eyes were on me "the non-Christian" but really I think they were just wondering “Who is the short girl holding Paul’s hand?”  It was within the first 10 minutes I met just about everyone, they were all so nice and eager to know who I was.

At first I felt like an outsider or a fraud, and kind of out of place because I wasn’t a Christian and it felt like Pastor Ron was speaking Greek.  I was trying really hard to understand and to listen to what he was saying but it didn’t make sense. 

After church the next week I went on a walk with Ronda and I was picking her brain about Jesus and Christianity.  She was so great to take the time to really listen to my questions and explain things to me.  I sometimes felt like I was asking really stupid or elementary questions but she always had an answer and didn’t make me feel stupid at all.

I remember sometime between February and June Erin (one of our best friends) and I would sit at our Girls Night, which we tried to do once a week, and ask Ronda question after question.  I’m sure it was like playing a game of 20 questions, but Ronda was more than happy to talk with us.  She would even get out her Bible and read to us. It was so wonderful.


Girlfriends...a gift from God.

Fast forward to June 2007.  I had been going to church with Paul every Sunday, and things were starting to click for me.  I was beginning to understand the 'Greek' that Pastor Ron was speaking.  He would give us homework or a reading assignment, which was great because it gave me a place to start reading.  The bible is a big book and I didn’t know where to start.

One day I was washing my hair and I started to pray out loud “Dear Lord, I don’t know what to say, or if I am even doing this right but I want to know you.  I want to believe.  I don’t know if it works this way, but please Lord send me a sign.  I need a sign and please make it obvious because I don’t want to miss it….ummm amen.”

About a week later I woke up and was reading something online and I noticed there was a blind spot in my vision. It was like I had a smudge on my glasses and was trying to look through it.  I was having difficulty reading because letters of the words were missing on the screen.  I did a check of my glasses and nothing was there.  I did a “Camera One” “Camera Two” where you close one eye and then the other and noticed it was only in my right eye.  It was really strange and I thought "oh well it will go away."  A week later it was still there, and it was actually getting worse.  The blind spot no longer was making letters disappear, but whole words from the screen!  So I decided to go to the eye doctor.

I sat down and the doctor was looking in my eyes and he tells me, in a very concerned voice that really freaked me out, “It looks like you have a macular hole and you need to go to the retinal specialist right now.”  At this point I think that I am going blind and as I am driving to the retinal specialist in Seattle I started praying.  “Please Lord don’t let me go blind.  Lord please let this be something that will just go away and not be anything serious. Please Lord.”  I don’t know why, but I just kept repeating that prayer my entire way to Seattle. 

The eye doctor had called ahead and told them I needed to be seen right away.  I checked in and the receptionist told me that I would be the last patient of the day and that I needed to sit and wait.  So I found a seat in the crowed lobby and began waiting.  I looked around and noticed that I was the youngest person in that waiting room by at least 30 years.  I picked up a magazine and started flipping pages to pass the time to find out whether or not I was going blind.  Sitting across from me was an older couple and they were talking with another older gentleman.  I didn’t mean to eaves drop on the conversation but it just happened.  As I was listening they were talking about Jesus.  They were telling a story about a family member...  I don’t remember all of the details but I just remember sitting there thinking “Wow, this is an interesting conversation to have in a waiting room at doctor’s office, and to have with someone you’ve just met.”

I didn’t really think anything other than that and went back to flipping through the pages of my magazine.

Finally it was my turn to go in and see the specialist.  They did all of these crazy tests and came to the conclusion that I had a cold settled in my eye and it was just inflamed and that it would go away.  A cold!  In my eye!  I was ecstatic and said “Thank you Lord.”  How often are people excited when they get a cold?  I was.

As I drove home I began thinking about how happy I was that I wasn’t going blind and that my eyesight would go back to normal in a few days. I was looking around at the traffic I was in and noticed that the car in front of me had a sticker on the back window. The sticker was a picture of Jesus.  I felt like Jesus was staring at me waving a flag saying “OK Amy, I am here for you!!! I hope this is a big enough sign to get your attention.”  That was all I needed.  I realized at that moment I had received the sign I was asking for.  If you remember I had asked God to give me some kind of a sign for me to believe that he was real. It took taking part of my vision away to get my attention.  I remember how amazing that felt to realize that I was saved.

I was baptized 2010 at Mars Hills Church on Easter, the same day that my friend Erin was.

I didn’t know that I was going to get baptized that day.  I knew that I wanted to at some point but I didn’t know when.  It is all on God’s time because I was standing there singing and watching people publicly show their commitment to God and I felt that it was my time too.  Erin who just got dunked gave me a hug and I told her I want to do it.  She held my hand and walked me and Paul backstage where they had a change of clothes (which I was thankful for because I was wearing a white tank top and a skirt obviously not the proper attire to get dunked in).  I remember walking up on stage with Paul and getting into the tub. Paul holding one arm and the deacon was holding the other.  I went into the water and came out crying.  It was an amazing feeling, very unexpected.

Thank you Ronda for allowing me to share my testimony on your blog.  At first I didn’t know what I was going to write but I prayed about it and my fingers just did the typing.

Amy Sallee

UPDATE (It's me again!):

Holy Smokes My Eyes Are Open!!!!! I feel like God is shaking me awake and telling me that he has a path for me and I need to follow it, not my own.  Since writing my testimony above on Saturday, God has opened my eyes even more!

I am sitting at a park bench waiting for Paul (Hubby) to finish playing Frisbee Golf and I just picked up a pen and paper and began writing.  I felt compelled to write about what has happened since Saturday.  I started writing and called Ronda to tell her about everything that was going on and she said “Ok, now you have to add this to what you wrote yesterday.  Your testimony is not finished.”

So here we go……

We hadn’t been to Mars Hill Church, in Shoreline, in a while so this past Sunday we went.  We are working our way through Luke (I heard they are going to spend like two years in Luke; talk about thorough!).  Pastor Mark starts off by saying that we are starting in Luke 18: 35-43, A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight. I thought to myself “What the heck! Are you serious?  I just typed out 4 pages of my testimony on that same topic.”  I looked at Paul with my eyes watering and said “This is what I wrote about yesterday for Ronda’s Blog.”  He looked at me and smiled and grabbed my hand.  My eyes were blind to God.

When Jesus asked “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,“ he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”

That is what I was asking for from God that day I was washing my hair.  I wanted to see and understand Jesus!

I don’t feel like I have recently strayed away from God; more like I distanced myself.  I would pray each night and still believed that God sent Jesus to die for my past and future sins, but I wasn’t putting him first.  I didn’t make time for God who saved me.  It took reading Ronda’s Blog and being asked to give my testimony to realize how I have messed up priorities.  I have been selfish and only doing things for me.  I put myself first and not God.  I am glad God didn’t give up on me and has pulled me back in.  I think back on recent events that have occurred and it is God telling me “I am still here even though you are not as close as you once were.  I will always send you signs when you need them."  Clear direction, my protection.

I have realized this weekend that I need to change.  I need to put God first and my Husband second.   I need to think about the things that I do and think if this is something that God wants me to do.  What comes to mind is the TV shows that I watch and waste my time with.  Friday I watched at least 10 episodes of True Blood.  It’s a show about vampires and sex and the more I was watching it the more I was starting to feel embarrassed and knew in my heart that I should turn it off.  I remember when Ronda told me that she wasn’t going to watch Big Love anymore and I didn’t really understand it at the time, but I do now.

I mentioned to Paul that Mars Hill in Everett was going to be starting up a Doctrine Series in July and he said he was interested in going. Not only was he interested, but he was excited, and I was excited; we are excited!  This feels like a test for me...like God is challenging me to see if I will work out my priorities.  The class is going to be held on Wednesday nights which conflicts with Advocare, a side business of mine.  I will have to miss them for this class, but I am good with that, because I believe that once my priorities get in line with God at the center, he will bless my business.

I also heard that Mars Hill's Everett campus will need a lot of volunteers to make the campus suceed (it is relatively new).  I have decided that I want to help out with either the nursery (what can I say, I like to hold babies), or be a greeter and hand out the weekly bulletin to folks as they come in the door.  Or hey, maybe I will do both!

I feel God wants me to immerse myself in him and help out wherever I can and everything else will work itself out.  I am currently working on getting my personal training certificate and I have the Advocare business on the side, but I am beginning to see that if I change the order of my priorities and put God first, that is the best laid plan.  All will be well; His plan, not mine.

I came across 2 Peter 1:3-10 and it felt fitting:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness though our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and had forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.  Fore if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savor Jesus Christ.



Amy and Paul Sallee,  Everett, WA

 

*Note from Ronda:

Amy,


You are a joy to everyone who meets you.  Your bubbly, energetic, positive personality is contagious and that is a gift.  You are such a beautiful young woman and it is so exciting for me to see how God is working in your life.  I feel so blessed to call you my friend, and my sister.  Much love!


xoxo


Ronda