EDNA ELS: GOD'S WORK ON DISPLAY

TESTIMONY DEFINITION: EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF A FACT OR STATEMENT; PROOF.

The word testimony in Hebrew is ‘Aydooth’, which means ‘do it again with the same power and authority’ Every time we speak out or read a testimony, we are saying, Lord, ‘do it again’ with the same power and authority. If God can do it for you, He can do it for me!

My Testimony as far as I can recall, I always had a God consciousness.

I grew up in a religious home, read the Bible and went to Church, even though I had an unhealthy image of God as an authoritarian God that watches our every move and punishes our sins.

I was born again at the age of 16, a joyful experience, but I tried to maintain and earn my salvation through good works. I was saved but set up to fail as I had no discipleship or a Jesus-loving community to show me the way! By the time I went to university, I was living quite a compartmentalized life. There was a do-as-youlike box and an up-to-date repentance box in case Jesus returned, and I wasn’t ready!

I was saved for sure, but I lived life on my own terms.

Searching for identity in all the wrong places, I found that lasting satisfaction was elusive and self-acceptance depended on being in with the right crowd and the ever-fading applause of my last performance. Relationships were unsafe, and though I loved people, I feared rejection and withheld my heart.

Fast forward to the end of my university years, sitting in a club with my friends, bored, cynical and questioning the meaning of life, I had a silent conversation with God.

“God, there must be more to life than this. Show me if you’re real.”

There was no reply, but within the following weeks, my life changed radically. Things started to go wrong. My steady relationship broke up. I wrote my final exams and did not pass everything! (a first for me that filled me with shame). My friendships fell apart, and the list goes on.

In February of 1984, a friend insisted that I meet a colleague of her husband. I firmly declined, but my curiosity got the better of me. She invited me, and he ‘happened’ to drop by.

One thing led to another, and by the end of that week, Louis Els invited me out, shared the gospel with me over a steak, and introduced me to my first spirit-filled Church experience. It all set me up for encountering Jesus personally.

Once I encountered Jesus and fell in love with Him, Jesus totally transformed me. His Lordship became my delight in contrast to the burden of good performance for approval that I’d previously carried!

His grace and kindness are forever fingerprinted all over my life.

In January 1985, Louis and I married and moved to Jeffreys Bay. We were excited about the move, as we knew there was a calling on our lives, and JBay was the next step of obedience.

Soon we were involved in ministry, and life became complicated as we tried to navigate marriage, children and leading people whilst running three businesses. We were out of our depth. My self-protection mechanism kicked in, “Fake it till you make it”, and “hide behind layers of pretense so that no one will know you’re not coping.“

Perfectionism. Performance. Loneliness. Isolation. Brick by brick, I built high walls around my soft heart.

The Turning Point:

One evening at a Christmas function, a wellmeaning friend asked me a random question, “Edna, how does it feel to be so perfect? “

If she was trying to be mean or sarcastic, I could’ve shrugged off the question, but her sincerity cut through my defences and caused me to question my authenticity.

It was a challenging stage of my life, with two small children and a life that was overcommitted and out of balance in many areas.

I longed for genuine relationships where I could be myself and be loved regardless, where people could know the worst of me and still choose to believe the best of me and vice versa.

God heard my cry and answered my prayers. “ Be the friend you’d like to have, sow seeds of friendship, and know that people will let you down, just as you are bound to disappoint others”. I chose to re-engage in life-giving relationships, letting down my guard and leaving the safety of my self-inflicted isolation.

I firmly believe that relationships are a crucial issue in life; the rest is just details. Our relationship with God and others determine the quality of our lives more than our standard of living.

God used the debris of rejection and unsafe friendships to birth a passion in me for authentic relationships that glorify God.

We become more like Him as we allow others to speak His Truth into our lives, as we keep one another accountable to His Word.

Scary? Yes!

Easy? No!

Relationships entail a journey of walking together through the highs and lows of life! Sometimes it gets crowded and complicated, but He is the One who is our constant companion, helping us to navigate rocky terrain through Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness.

Whether you see yourself as an introvert or an extrovert, your divine design requires intentional relationships to shape the Kingdom woman within you.

My Story becomes His Glory!

Revelation 12:11 KJV

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.

May we become Kingdom women that love the Word, are led by the Spirit and are characterised by our love for God and others.