Feb 12, 2025 “If It Weren’t For My Son”

If it wasn’t for my son’s bravery, I don’t know where our family would be.

In first part of my life I was an Adventist, rooted in the teachings of my church. But life has a way of changing things, sometimes in ways we least expect.

I married a man, a widower who was a from another denomination, and our union brought together two different religious backgrounds.

Even though my faith remained steady at first, the reality of being married to someone who didn’t share my beliefs started to chip away at my own spiritual growth.

Slowly but surely, I began to drift away from the Church, and I was rarely attending worship services at my Adventist church. But I kept sharing the word of God with my husband and stepchildren, every so often, even though my own faith felt fragile.

My husband, devout to his religion, held tightly to his beliefs. His faith was tied to his family’s ancestry, and he felt a deep responsibility to uphold the traditions that had been around for generations.

Then, something unexpected happened.

In the village of Taname, where we lived, just a short distance from our home, there was a public evangelism meeting hosted by the local South Sulawesi Conference with the help of equipment donations from Quiet Hour Ministries. It felt as if it was placed there for a reason and despite my weaking faith, I attended with my husband and stepson.

We went every night, and on the final night of the meeting, something incredible occurred: My stepson stood up and publicly declared that he was ready to be baptized.

I was overwhelmed with emotion. He was taking a step of faith that I had longed for but never thought would come from him.

But as joyous as that moment was, it led to a storm in our household.

When we returned home, my husband was furious. He forbade my stepson from going through with the baptism, threatening violence if he did. He was angry at me too, accusing me of leading his child astray with Adventist teachings. The emotional weight of that moment was unbearable.

My stepson, whose courage and faith were stronger than his fear of his father, decided to get baptized anyway. He avoided his father for as long as he could because my husband planned to beat him or even kill him.

I was terrified for my child. In that moment, I prayed like I’d never prayed before. The pastor who had been involved with the evangelism week learned of my husbands threats and didn’t hesitate.

He stepped in immediately, going to my husband and warning him that if he followed through on his threats, he would report my husband to the authorities. The pastors’s intervention was a turning point, and my husband refrained from harming my stepson.

In the wake of all that tension, something beautiful began to unfold. My stepson’s steadfast faith and courage gave me the strength I needed to take the next step in my own journey. I realized that I needed to fully commit my life to Christ, just as my stepson had. I decided to be baptized myself.

A month later, another evangelism event was held in the nearby village of Karossa, just 8-10 miles from my home in Taname.

My stepson, my husband, and I attended every night. It was a moment of profound transformation.

My husband, who had never fully embraced the Adventist teachings before, began to see the truth of God’s word as it was taught by the church. He attended every session and even became friends with the members of the Adventist church, many of whom were from his own village.

And when the time came for me to be baptized, my husband stood by my side, a witness to that sacred moment.

Though my husband has not yet made the decision to be baptized, his heart is softening. He is struggling with the weight of his family’s religious traditions, but I believe that God is working in him, just as He worked in me. I see the changes, and I believe that one day, my husband will come to fully accept the truth of Jesus and be baptized as well.

Today, I ask for your prayers. Pray for me, that I can remain faithful to God and continue to be a witness to those around me. Pray for my husband, that his heart will open to the truth of God’s word, and that one day, he too will make the decision to follow Jesus. And please, pray for my stepson, whose courage and faith have been a beacon of light in our family’s journey.

May God’s will be done in our lives. Amen.