God from God, Light from Light

In 1976, I met the Lord Jesus Christ, and my life changed forever. In this article, I want to share a little bit about what happened. Miraculous Moment: When Jesus Spoke to Me!

(testimony on video below)

In 1976, my life changed forever—I went from atheism to Christianity through a powerful, transformative encounter with Jesus. In this video, I share my conversion story and the miraculous moment that led me to faith.

Supernatural experiences are more common than you might think, but not all are from God. As 2 Corinthians 11:14 warns, the enemy can disguise himself as light. That’s why we must be discerning—testing every experience against Scripture and the wisdom of the Church.

I’m sharing my journey to glorify God and to remind you of His deep love for each of us. He can transform your life no matter where you are or what you’ve done. With God, all things are possible! 🙏✨

I’m not sharing the background to that; it’ll take far too long, so that is for another article. But here I just want to share a little bit about exactly what happened.

An Unhappy Life

In 1976, I was unhappy with my life, and my friend Robyn was also unhappy with our lives.

I tried many things up until that point and I’ve tried different spirituality is tried and I tried different spiritualities, but none answered my questions. I wanted you to find out what life was all about, and nothing I tried could answer my questions. I wanted to find out what life was all about and what was going to happen to me after I died, and I had found none of those questions answered.

Living in South Australia at the time, Robyn and I decided to go around Australia on a big trip in search of the answers and perhaps find ourselves in the process.  

The Plan

We both had a car, so we sold them to buy a large station wagon. The idea was that we could sleep in a station wagon if need be, and it was big enough to store our possessions.

We decided to travel for two years and started our journey on the East Coast, working our way around the country.

Now most of the Australian population is on the coastline, or because that’s where the rivers are, so we had no interest in travelling through the outback.   

 Venturing into the bush can be quite dangerous, particularly for two-woman travellers. We planned to go from town to town and work our way around Australia.

Plan A was Foiled.

Unfortunately, we didn’t know that many parts of Australia were suffering from drought. Many businesses had closed, and there was no work to be had, particularly in the country towns. So, when we couldn’t find jobs, we were forced to press farther and farther northward in search of work.

Weeks went by, and we came to the point where our money ran out, and we found ourselves just north of Sydney with a broken-down car with no way to pay for its repair.

This was before the advent of mobile phones, and we had no choice but to leave the car on the side of the road and walk to the nearest town to find help at a repair garage.

We came across one, and the proprietor offered to look after our car in his garage for two weeks.  

We would find work and return to pay him for the repair then. However, if we did not return within two weeks, he would sell the car, take it as payment, and also take our possessions. We felt we had no choice in the matter, and so we agreed.

Plan B

For various reasons, we didn’t want to venture into Sydney, so we decided to hitchhike to Newcastle, about 100 miles north, hoping to find a job. And perhaps we might find a place to stay temporarily. 

Now I am going to skip over a lot here; this article will become just too long. So, let’s get to nail them exactly to the encounter of our Lord Jesus Christ

Love and Hospitality

We ended up staying with a lovely ministry family. One night, they asked us if we wanted to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour. I was shocked and upset, getting quite angry because my background is quite anti-Christian, and I wanted to leave.

Robyn responded to the invitation to accept Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. She had more difficulty than I did because she was a single mother.

Robyn came from a catholic family that challenged her to give up her child for adoption; they would put her outside of the family. So that’s what she did.

Robyn gave up her baby, but before she did, she named him John Mark. You can imagine how grieved she was. 

Robyn felt that becoming a Christian was the answer to her broken heart. But I wanted to get outta there!

The ministry couple, Xenona and  Paul, encouraged me to stay while they prayed for Robyn- I agreed.

I Saw Jesus

I was seated on the couch while Paul and Xenona knelt on the floor and prayed for Robyn.

I was bored and felt guilty for being difficult. It was then I looked up to the ceiling still sitting on the couch the same in my heart saying, ‘god if you’re real and there I ask you to help Robyn because she needs it’.

Then…. the whole ceiling and room disappeared, and a big light shone before me!

 It was an amazing, liquid-gold-white light.  Quite indescribable a light that you can walk into, and a voice said and I heard it with my ears it was an audible voice and that voice said ‘Follow me’.

I knew instinctively that the voice was the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

(for more details, watch my video below)

I responded, ‘Show me the road and I will follow’.

 Then…a road of light came out of the light and surrounded me, and I felt arms around me, and the voice from the light said Follow me’.  I broke down and cried. I’ve been following Jesus Christ ever since.

☕ If you’d like to support what I am doing: Buy Me a Coffee. If you find my videos & writing inspiring and uplifting, consider supporting what I do. Buy me a coffee. Your support makes a difference in my life and helps me create more of what you and I like. Thank you 

For Inspirational Videos Click HERE  

I’m Paula Rose Parish — a former atheist of 21 years, Protestant pastor for over 40 years, and now a Catholic convert. After a powerful encounter where Jesus audibly called me to follow Him, my life was forever changed. I’ve ministered across Australia, the USA, and the UK, and today, I share my journey of faith, hope, and transformation. 

This is a place for seekers, converts, reverts, and the curious. Here, you’ll find honest conversations about Catholicism, personal testimony, theological insight, and encouragement for those walking toward (or wondering about) the Catholic Church. 

🕊️ From Atheism to Faith. From Pastor to Catholic. 

📖 Read my blog: www.almostcatholic.blog 

🌿For Free Holistic Well-being Resources www.paularoseparish.org 

🕊️You can also find all my Books by following the links to Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk 

🙏 Subscribe, like, and share if you find something meaningful here. 

Jesus loves you — and He’s calling you home. Welcome to the journey. 💕✝️

Contact by Email: paularoseparish@gmail.com 

If you are struggling to find non-judgmental advice or support, please feel free to contact me. If you are grieving and need to talk or seek spiritual help, drop me an email to chat with me. 

In the comments section, I would love for you to share your faith stories and comments with this community. 

We seek to foster a sense of community. All blog posts are here for your encouragement and to share with others. You will find various topics relevant to faith and wellness in everyday life. 

Copyright ©  2024. Paula Rose Parish. All Rights Reserved