Beth Rodriguez

Psalm 91:1-2, NIV
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Beth's Life - His Testimony

When I was a young girl about the age of six, I has my first spiritual experience. I woke up in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep. I started to talk to God and I asked Him. “What should I do in this life?”
 
He answered me, “Love!”
 
Then in my mind’s eye, He hugged me and His white robe felt warm and cool at the same time on my cheek. I was so comforted I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.
 
Fast forward to the age of twenty-five. At that time, it was not as if I did not believe in God - I just did not give Him much thought. I thought drinking and smoking and partying was all normal. As time went on however, I became more and more miserable. I was unhappy, unfulfilled and I was engaged to a man of questionable character. Partying was my lifestyle but I was no longer enjoying it as I once had. My biggest battle was the loneness I felt. It did not matter if I was surrounded by friends or family, I had an emptiness I could never shake.
 
I came home from work one day and did something I did not normally do. I turned on the TV. This TV only got three stations and none of them clearly. The program that was on was the Christian show “The 700 club”.
 
Pastor Roberson laid out the salvation message and I found myself weeping uncontrollably. I got down on the floor and begged God to save me. I acknowledge that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who died for me, shed His blood, was buried and rose again the third day. After a time of tears, I sat down on the couch and felt completely calm and at peace. I watched till the end of the program and they said to call them if you had accepted Christ and so I did. The woman on the other end was so happy and I could not stop smiling!
 
Bring untaught, I believed that I earned “points” for doing good things for other people and trying to be as sinless as possible. It wasn’t until later He made it clear that I do not have to earn my salvation or His love. I learned from Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV), “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
 
God immediately started working in my life. He took away my need for alcohol and when my friends heard about my conversation they turned away one by one. I did not even miss them. One thing held me hostage, and that was smoking cigarettes. I could not quit though I tried time and time again. I was so ashamed. I never let anyone at church know that I smoked until I met a woman named Kim. For some reason I told her. I was sitting with her one Sunday evening service when the pastor had us kneel right where we were sitting and seek the lord. Once again I brought my smoking to Him. I said, “I cannot do this by myself, I need Your help. Please, please help me.”
 
At that exact moment the pastor said, “The Lord wants to deliver someone from smoking.” Kim and I looked at each other and she said, “That’s for you, go on up.” I went forward, ashamed, and embarrassed. Since I was sitting in the first row I was the first in line. The pastor prayed and when I turned to go back to my seat. I looked and the line was clear out to the lobby. I had been s afraid know that I smoked and I found I was not alone. I was shocked! I thought I was the only one.
 
I did not smoke when I got home and the next morning I realized I was different. When I poured my morning coffee I didn’t feel the urge to smoke. My girlfriend called and I did not feel the need to smoke and I always had to smoke when I was on the phone. That terrible habit that I had no control over was gone. Completely wiped away from my brain. No urges, no withdrawal, no more need for this repetitious behavior. I had been delivered! I had heard of people being delivered before but never thought it would happened to me. Since that day I can no longer tolerate the smell of cigarettes, it makes me sick to my stomach.
 
Sometime later, my marriage failed as I knew it would do. I knew it from the beginning. Now, I had two little girls I had to raise on my own. I moved back to Pittsburgh where I grew up and went back to school. As times follow, I started seeing my future husband and when I had finished school we married and we moved to Canfield Ohio. Nine years and a half later we were blessed with a son. One night at about 3am I was awake feeding the baby, I was praying for people that came to my mind. Suddenly, in my mind I heard the Lord say, “prepare to become a pastor’s wife.” I dismissed it out of hand thinking it was just a wayward thought. Unbeknownst to me, my husband was downstairs doing our taxes when the Lord spoke to him about starting a church. He told the Lord that he would need to tell my wife.
 
The next morning as he was getting ready for work, he said to me, “Well, I got the call.” I said, “Who called?” I was thinking he meant someone called on the phone. He said that the Lord had called him to start a church. I told him what I had heard in my prayer time and then he said, “These the confirmation.” And he went to work.
 
We started the church with one other couple in our living room and it grew from there.
 
We retired after twenty-five years of pastoring the same church. My husband is now a fulltime chaplain at Aultman Hospital, Ohio. I am retired from the medical field. I know that God has been behind every detail of my life, even using the ugly things to form and shape me with the utmost care and attention. Christ will always be my Savior and I will always be His servant.