April Driggers         Where I Am

My Testimony

    For a long time, I never chose to share my testimony because I always said that it was nothing special.  However, now that I am older, I realize that everyone’s testimony is special to them. 

    From the time I was old enough to be around a crowd, I have attended church.  When our church celebrated its’ 100^th anniversary, I was the youngest member of First Baptist Church at the age of two.   My parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, my Aunts and Uncles were all Godly people.  I was raised with Jesus as the center of everything.  Every song that was sung was an old hymn, every story that was told was somehow tied to a Biblical truth, and every day started and ended with a prayer.  When I was seven years old I accepted Christ.  The thing I remember most about the entire experience is my baptism.  My grandmother was the attendant assigned to the baptistry.  The first thing I saw when I came out of the water was Memaw waiting to wrap me up in a towel and give me a hug.  I lived the next few years with no great changes in my life.  I knew I was saved and all of the friends that I spent my time with were church goers also, so there wasn’t much to change.  When I became a dreaded teenager, I began to rebel like most teens do.  And despite the fact that I thought I was getting away with most of my sins, God was watching.  When I was eighteen, I moved away to college with the hopes of becoming the next big thing in music, but my sins would soon find me out.     

    At the age of eighteen, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders.  I had recently found out that I was pregnant and had to quit college and move home.  Michael and I were supposed to be married the following September, but my dream wedding was gone and I had to grow up.  I thought for the longest time that God was punishing me for my actions.  It almost seemed like a snowball effect.  The following year, Michael lost his job, we moved twice. I lost my job, and we were in serious financial trouble.  The following year, I found out that I was pregnant again.  Although we wanted another baby, the timing wasn’t right.  We were barely making it, much less able to support another child.  A few months after Madison’s arrival, Michael was in a horrific accident that caused even more financial problems.  Every time we seemed to make progress, it seemed as if someone shoved us back under water again.  When I found out that I was going to have baby #3, I contracted a virus, had a feeding tube, was hospitalized nine times, got spinal meningitis, and they told me that she might not live.  Then there was Michael’s surgery and the many obstacles we went through with his recovery.

    I say all this to end up at “God is good all the time.”  The way I wrote the previous paragraph is exactly how I felt at the time.  One thing seemed to come right on top of the other and I felt like we were sinking in a sea of tragedy.  I didn’t stop to give God the praise for the life preserver that kept us afloat.  You see, Hope’s birth was not the end but just the beginning of the correct chapter in my life.  Michael losing his job made us appreciate everything that we have now. Madison brings excitement and joy that only she could bring.  Michael’s accident taught us that God will provide.  My illness throughout my pregnancy with Kami showed me the power of God to perform miracles and keep his promise.  And God provided so many friends to help us through Michael’s surgery and recovery.  He took care of us through every situation.  And the one thing that was constant in every situation was that God was there.     

    Even though I had salvation and knew that He took care of me, it was extremely difficult to learn to let him make my decisions and then stick with what he wanted.  When I would stop listening, he would send an angel or speak through others to make me understand what He wanted.  My father told me that he heard God’s voice louder than ever before tell him that he was to financially support me in making a gospel album.  Now, let me tell you, I didn’t want to do it.  I had always done country music and I was not about to give it up.  I didn’t want to see that I had done country music for 20 years and had never really gotten any further than the city limits with my talents.  I had never been able to write a song that amounted to anything.  I told my Dad that I wasn’t interested in doing the album, but the truth is that I was scared of not being worthy enough to stand on His altar and sing His praise.  I mean, look at all of my mistakes.  Surely he couldn’t mean that he wanted me to do Christian music professionally.  But that is exactly what He meant.  The first day in the studio I realized that it was a divine appointment for me to be there in that place doing what I was doing.  I will never forget what it felt like knowing with every fiber of my being that I was doing exactly what God wanted me to do.  I wrote two original songs, not by myself, but with the best co-writer I could ask for, God.  I finally gave up and gave it to God.  I believe he has truly blessed my efforts and has big plans for me in the future.  I just have to tell myself everyday that it is not for my glory but for His.  And every day since I started saying that has been better and better.