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Heart to Heart
by Pat Chwialkowski
I have a couple of cousins who researched our genealogy. My maiden name is Melczak and I am of Polish descent. I was always a little confused why my last name did not sound Polish. Later, I learned that Melczak is actually a Czech-Slovakian name. And Melczak should not be my real last name.
My great grandfather, Joseph Melczak married a woman named Magdalene who came from a family of nobility. After they married and while Magdalene was pregnant with my grandfather, they made the journey from Poland to the United States. Upon getting off the boat, my great-grandfather identified himself and his wife as Joseph and Magdalene Melczak. It was at that time, he dropped his real last name and gave a different name of Melczak. Why he did this no one knows.
I have heard the theory that Melczak actually means baker in Czech-Slovakian and that he was the baker for Magdalene’s family prior to their marriage. I don’t know if this is true. But another theory is that Melczak was actually Magdalene’s name, and since she was of nobility and he was a commoner, they took on her last name. I guess we will never know the true story on this side of glory. But the name change makes it impossible to research our genealogy past Joseph and Magdalene. And maybe that is what they desired all along. A brand new identity without any of their past to haunt them.
Many people desire the same thing my great-grandfather did. They have messed up so much in their lives; they wish they could start fresh and wipe out all the garbage that they had accumulated all their years of living. In the real world this would be impossible. There is a formula that says Garbage In = Garbage Out. But in the spiritual world everyone can begin again. The Bible calls it: Born-Again. (John 3:3-8)
It was in 1982, I got to experience this phenomenon. I was hurting, depressed, hating my life, and wishing I could find happiness, peace and joy. I began this search in the nightclubs as my husband was working nights. I was so depressed at the time, that when my neighbor invited me to join her at the hot spot in our town, I readily accepted her invitation. But even as I sat there among the jovial and the party animals, I still felt lost. When I told my husband what I did, he forbid me to go back. For after all, we had been married for over five years at that time, and a bar is no place where a married woman should be without her husband.
The next Friday, I had to think up another plan in order to keep my husband happy. That is when I remembered that a co-worker had been inviting me for years, to attend his Friday night Bible Study. I called him up and got directions, and headed for my very first Bible Study.
Needless to say, I did not own a Bible, so the only thing I brought along with me was my pack of Marlboro’s. When I reached the study, you can tell everyone was so happy to see me. Go figure. As they read from the Gospel of John, and I listened to them, it did not take long for my mind to wander and my desire to be there dissipated. I excused myself after about an hour, and told them I probably would not be back. I had enough of listening to a bunch of weirdo’s talk about Jesus like they personally knew Him or something.
On Monday morning, one of the girls who was at the study came to talk to me. She had noticed how uncomfortable I was sitting at this Bible Study, and she came to tell me she understood. However, God had gotten a hold of her heart just weeks prior, and she got born again. Since I liked her a lot, I listened to what she had to say, even though I did not understand a word of it. I accepted a New Testament Bible from her as she encouraged me to read it.
I remember the night like it was yesterday. On August 25,1982 I began to read in the Gospel of Matthew when I was enthralled by every word that I was taken in. I finally got to the 19th chapter of Matthew, when I set this little Bible down and called out to God. I asked Him, if He was for real if He would give me peace. And SWOOSH…peace overcame me, like water overflowing. I could not believe that one simple prayer of mine would be answered immediately.
It took weeks for me to truly understand everything. And three weeks after my “peace filling” night, God allowed me to realize that I could have a brand new life in Him. All I had to do was recognize that I was a sinner in need of a Savior, and be willing to live a new and different life following Jesus every day of my life.
I took God at His word, and got “born-again”. It was great knowing that all the garbage that I had been carrying around for years could be gone, and I could begin living a brand new life.
That was over 25 years ago, and I am still learning what the radical, obedient life should look like. Some people think I am too radical about Jesus, while others wish they could have what I have. I tell them they can. They just need to call on the name of Jesus like I did back on August 25,1982. Then stand back and watch God go to work as He transforms you into a brand new person. And then just like my great-grandfather, when someone tries to tell you that you are just a commoner, get your Bible out and show them, you are now a child of a King.
And when your future generations try to look back on your life one day, they will only be able to go back as far as the day that you were “born-again”. For the old has gone, and the new has come. And no one will ever be able to trace back what your old life was really like. Talk about getting a new identity! If only my great-grandfather knew.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has gone, the new has come!
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Founder and Director of Key Ministries located in Lexington South Carolina. You can reach us at keyministries@yahoo.com. .
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