I'm feeling goosebumps I actually
touched her I said when did you feel
this it felt like electricity in my
hands I said did you feel this I said no
I don't feel anything I don't know
what's going on horrible music and I'm
having a this visceral feeling I was
born in Columbus Ohio and I'm Jewish
my parents are Jewish everyone I know in
the family ancestors are Jewish and
matter of fact we were four pretty
argumentative little kids and my my
mother used to say can't even get a word
in edgewise around here and what was
funny is that we all grew up to be
lawyers and when that happened at one
point member she said well at least I'm
vindicated that I couldn't get a word in
edgewise with you guys so I remember
with my grandmother in particular this
year she grew up in the old the old
country and anti-semitism was just such
a visible part of the upbringing that
she said now you're going to school and
it's so Christmas time of year and
they're going to do those Christmas
songs that don't make a big deal about
it but you can't say its name so I went
in this bookstore I was visiting my
brother at the time and checking out the
New York Times bestsellers and there's
this book rabbi Jesus ah
hi Bruce Chilton and I I was attracted
to the title because rabbi Jesus would
not be a very common title for a book at
least in my world so I picked it up and
my brother came over he says would you
read that book and I said you know Alan
come on you know I'm an educated woman I
don't even know who this person is and
he changed history if nothing else you
know so I'm just curious I just want to
read the book oops well I see a little
bit more about who Jesus is and so
bought the book got on the plane and
headed back to Columbus I sat down on
the plane and I'm sitting in there
reading my book rabbi Jesus and this
woman kind of appears over my shoulder
is Oh what are you reading and I said
kind of defensively I'm Jewish but I'm
I'm just curious who you know who Jesus
is and she said well what do you want to
know you know I've written books about
him and I was pretty shocked and she
started talking to me about some of the
books and some of the information about
him and at the end of all this I said
you know I'm not going to change my
religion but you know if I were to read
the New Testament
you know do one that you'd recommend and
so she recommended one to me and then
she said and you know I'm going to send
you my book so give me your address let
me send you my books during this time
shockingly my marriage of 28 years came
to an end and it had happened had been
building over a long time to me raising
my children is like the most important
thing that you can do in life I had this
dream about I think it was a Zephaniah
passage he will delight with you the
song like it was uh I just woke up one
morning going what is that where'd that
come from I was by myself this was
spring of that year and came home from
work one day and took the mail in and
there was this yellow package so I
opened it up and there was a book in it
and the book had a card and I actually
have a card we came with a book and it
said do Diane I haven't forgotten my
promise to send you this book it just
has been slow in getting to you this
book is part of my life story in the
midst of great pain Jesus walked
alongside me I have been praying that
whatever you go through in your life
that he will find you and comfort you as
he blessed me blessings and Shalom
Laurie hall then she would 7 ayah 317 he
will delight in you with song and I'm
just like I'm just in shock I'm in shock
at so many levels that this card and
this book arrived at this time so I
called my sister who is living out in
Massachusetts the time I said Wendy you
are not going to believe this
and I and I told her how this person
that I didn't know sat down next to me
like 6 months ago on the plane we're
driving back and forth from Boston to
Columbus and and and I never had spoken
to her about my personal I've never said
a word
I had only asked her about Jesus and so
I'm telling Wendy who this woman is and
I in this card in the book and there's
like dead silence
on the phone just nothing had Wendy she
goes did you say Laurie Hall and I said
yes and she said I'm holding a magazine
in my hand and it's Christian LED woman
and they're doing a review of Laurie
halls book and it's this very book that
she sent to me at this moment it to me
it was so profound the God was
absolutely in my life
late August of 2001 my sister and I were
were together and she invited me to
church because a friend of hers was
going to become a pastor so we were
going to support I was supporting my
sister my sister was supporting her
friend so we go to a church service and
I was shockingly surprised at how
beautiful and moving it was and I have
to say at the moment though I felt that
I loved the music you know this is like
amazing music and so I really really I
got goose bumps and was really into the
service which was surprising you know I
was Jewish woman I've really not
attended church before this was good at
the end of the service she said I want
you to meet the pastor's here and they
were both Jewish and so I talked to
these two guys they grew up in New York
and I'm just like how how do you grow up
Jewish and you're a pastor in a church
it just blew my mind
there I'm standing there so this woman
came over to me and she said my pray for
you she takes my hands like this and I
pray for you and I said I just want
understand more about Jesus which I s
all I wanted but God God just he just
zapped me I feel like if there's such a
thing as good electricity it was like my
body was just filled with love and and
warmth and electricity it was like an
electric electrical love hug of
proportions I can't even imagine I just
felt this huge sense of truth of who
Jesus is I felt it I could feel it and
and the person that was praying for me
said the Holy Spirit is on you and as a
Jewish woman I have to admit I had no
idea what she meant by that and she said
will you accept Jesus as your Messiah
after this happened I'm an upstanding
member of the Jewish community on the
board at my synagogue and had a lot of
interaction with the rabbi's
my community and the subject came up you
know I believe in Yeshua now and the
reaction was what happened to you how
could you do this I was like a traitor
you know like what what how would you
possibly all these years believe that
you know after being a Jewish woman and
a leader in our community how could you
believe it Jesus is the Messiah and the
beauty of how this happened to me is
that I was so hit with the truth of it
it's such a deep level that all I could
answer was with great conviction I can't
explain why but it is true I know it is
true I know it is true in my heart and I
have the rest of my life to read
scripture and understand the why but I
know it is it is the truth