Several years before I was born, an eighteen-year-old girl was visited in the hospital by an old friend from high school friend named Dody. In the time that had passed since they had seen each other, Dody had changed, and Joanne couldn’t help but notice.

“Dody, your face looks so…so pretty.”

“That’s because Jesus has changed my life. I trusted Him, and He has changed me.”

Dody’s countenance of joy was so compelling that as soon as Joanne was released from the hospital, she made a call to the Baptist pastor of the church where her grandmother had attended and asked for an appointment.

Four days later, Joanne sat in the pastor’s office and basically asked him, “What must I do to be saved?” She told him that she knew she needed God in her life, and she wanted to know how to know Him. Opening his Bible, the pastor showed her how she could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Joanne trusted Christ that afternoon—March 28, 1978.

In the weeks and months that followed, Joanne’s life was transformed. God put an unquenchable hunger in her soul for Himself. Almost every evening, she would open her Bible and read, staying up until the wee hours of the morning thirsty for God’s Word and His truth. Ladies in her new church reached out to her, providing both friendship and discipleship.

As I remembered this morning that today marks thirty-four years since Joanne first trusted Christ as her Saviour, I quickly recognized that March 28, 1978 was a good day for me.

Joanne is my mom, and I’m eternally thankful for her salvation. My life would be unspeakably different had she not met Christ.

There are a lot of people that I wish I could thank for this special day: Dody, the pastor who led my mom to Christ, the pastor who led her in growth, the ladies who discipled her, and many more I’m sure whom I haven’t heard of. They had no idea when they faithfully ministered to a needy nineteen-year-old that they were actually helping someone who wasn’t even born yet—me! Remembering them makes me want to be a faithful soulwinner and discipler.

But I also thank my mom—for choosing to grow spiritually and seek God personally, for loving God’s Word and nurturing a hunger for it in my life, for valuing truth and committing to genuine spiritual growth, for walking with God and remaining faithful to Him.

Thank you, Mom. Happy Spiritual Birthday!