Behind Closed Doors

Slam! Clink. Silence. What had I done to deserve being isolated in this room with a barred window and no view? I could not understand why I was receiving this kind of treatment. Fear and terror gripped me as I realized I was at their mercy.

I grew up in the country. I did not like city living and only lived there four years—long enough to complete my registered nurse training.

During that time, I experienced severe depression and needed electroconvulsive therapy. After my recovery, I recognized that I needed help.

Though I did not realize it at the time, the Holy Spirit was working on my heart. I began to search various faiths and practices, including transcendental meditation.

During a working holiday in New Zealand, I continued to pray and asked God to show me His true church—if He had one. Each time I entered a new church, I asked Him to keep me from being deceived. I was looking for a church that practiced baptism by immersion.

There was something else they needed to believe, but I could not identify what that was. Disappointed, after nine months, I sailed home to Australia and shared my experiences with my elderly neighbors who had been kind to me over the years.

I used to ride my horse through the trails near their property.

They suggested I try the Seventh-day Adventist Church, seeing I had tried most others. That shocked me! I thought it was a sect that worshiped on Saturday.

I asked if they baptized by immersion. Yes, they did! My interest grew.

I asked if I could go to church with them the next week, and they arranged for their married daughter to take me. I knew that first Sabbath that this was the church I had been looking for, and I asked the pastor for studies that day. Many years have passed since I found myself in the hospital, shut away for treatment of bipolar I disorder.

Monitored medicine is the only long-term help, and because I take it regularly now, I have led a nearly normal life. After my retirement, I studied clinical pastoral education and volunteered as a hospital chaplain in our conference for five years. I owe my life to God’s protective watch care over me and His faithfulness through all the difficulties of life.

At age seventy-four, I know beyond a doubt that with God—all things are possible!

Margaret Ann Major