Jim Cumbie

As a child and young adult I was not that interested in church and only attended occasionally. I thought everything was ok and I saw no need to change.

Many years later, my wife Terri and I went to church one Easter Sunday and the pastor was talking about Easter dinner and how his wife set the dinner table. She placed a set of nails at each plate to remind them of Jesus’ death and sacrifice on the cross. All my life I had heard about Jesus dying on the cross, it wasn’t anything I had not heard before, but this time it was different. This time it was new to my heart. As the pastor held up the nails, suddenly I understood and I saw clearly for the first time in my life that God Loved me. That he loved me so much that he sacrificed his only son. Seeing those nails was powerful to me, I cried right there in church. I prayed and asked Jesus to come into my life, to forgive me. I felt like a burden or a weight was being lifted off me, a burden I didn’t even know was there.

That was 2011, and my life has significantly changed for the better. I am a much happier person now. When my mother passed away later that same year, it hurt. I missed her then and I miss her still, but I feel peace, knowing that she was a believer, and did have a relationship with God, that she was no longer suffering here on earth, but is happy and free in heaven. It took me a long time to understand and accept Gods love for me, but I now know that God is real, he is here for me, and he loves me unconditionally.

Jim Cumbie