“I Remember All About It”
My heart is privileged to have a personal testimony to report! I can testify and declare to you that I have a personal relationship with God by receiving His forgiveness for my sins and then, receiving the gift of His Holy Spirit within my heart!
My testimony is different; it is unlike my husband’s. I was blessed to be born to parents, Ernest and Lillie Porter Cory, who were both sanctified at the time of my birth in 1943. They resided in Jacksonville, Florida where I was born. They relocated to Birmingham, Alabama when I was 3 years old.
I’m as thankful as I know how to be for God placing me in a home where holiness was accepted and lived. But honestly, I don’t know if I know how to fully appreciate this. Unlike my husband, Charlie, I have been exposed to holiness and the Holy Scripture all of my 79 years.
From my earliest memory of spirituality and living for God, I knew I wanted to be sanctified. As a young girl about 11 years old, I very distinctly remember kneeling nightly at my bedside, praying and telling God that when I got old enough, I wanted to be sanctified and serve Him.
In October of 1956, my parents were invited by Everett and Effie Beecham to come stay at their home in Decatur, Georgia to attend the Atlanta Feast Meeting. I was 13 years old and by this time, I had 2 brothers: Ernest Bert (Bud) and Timothy Cory. My parents accepted the invitation to come for the Feast Meeting, and our family stayed with daddy’s relatives, the Everett Beecham family.
Of course, we all attended the service on Saturday night. Then, we all attended the service on Sunday morning. I was sitting about halfway back on what we sometimes referred to as “the men’s side” of the church; there was a very large crowd. When the invitation for prayer was given, my great aunt, Clara Beecham, passed by my bench and said, “Don’t you want to go?” and kept on walking. I immediately burst into sobbing. I think I probably stepped on the feet of my benchmates as I quickly stumbled to exit the bench. I headed straight for the altar with no hesitation at all! I hardly remember how I got there, except I remember feeling as if I were “floating” down the aisle to pray. Even though I had tried to be an obedient daughter and live good, I vividly remember the feeling of relief when my sins had been forgiven! It still makes my eyes tear up as I write this when I remember the relief!
My parents had planned to return home to Birmingham after dinner Sunday, but they chose to remain for church Sunday night to give me an opportunity to return to the altar and ask God to place His Holy Spirit within my heart. I have thanked God many times for their wisdom in making that decision. I was sanctified that night, and our family returned home after church. The crowd in Birmingham was small, but there was a large group of young people in Atlanta. God led my parents to relocate to the Decatur area so I would have an opportunity to flourish spiritually. So, within a few short months, and without the promise of a job for daddy, our family moved to Decatur. Our family was happy with the move, and I thrived spiritually as a young person. I have continued to live in the Atlanta area ever since my parents relocated there in early 1957. My life has been happy, and I personally embrace the line of the song that says, “And the way the Lord has led me is a wonder in my eyes”.
-Sis Joy Smith
