Myrna Hartley

Because I Love You

Year Signed Covenant: 1987

Passed into Glory: 2016

From the time I was a little girl I loved Jesus. I went to Sunday school and as a young teen-ager belonged to a Christian young peoples group. I sang in the church choir and went to Bible study Wednesday nights. I was always thirsty for more about Jesus. However from the time I was 10 years old and visited a Catholic Church I was drawn to it and thought about it over the years.

In my 20s I went through a rebellious period. I stopped going to church. I turned to Jesus in my pain and hurt but still did not return to church. I believed that God was angry with me, yet there were times when I felt the presence of Jesus. He answered prayer when I was in great need of his help; I could feel his protection over me. Jesus never stopped calling me back to Him. I went back to church at a small Catholic chapel. I went on retreats and spoke to the priests and sisters. A dear priest friend helped me so much, and later, in 1972, baptized me into the church (with his help we found out that I had never been baptized).

Things started to change quickly. I became more in­volved in retreats, was introduced to charismatic Masses, joined a prayer group and attended a Life in the Spirit Seminar. I was baptized in the Spirit in 1977. Everything changed. I was slain in the Spirit and received the gift of tongues. I began to thirst for more of Jesus. The Bible became alive to me. I was praying more and talking about Jesus to people I worked with. I would ask if I could pray for them. I was not afraid to lay hands on others and pray for healing. I fell in love with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity made sense to me; I now knew who He was and what He did.

In 1982, my husband and I went to Huntsville, Ala., to visit family who were members of The Glory of God Commu­nity. In May of 1983, we returned and in three months we went under­way. In 1985, the Glory of God Community joined with Alleluia. We were first to move to Augusta and become underway members of the Alleluia Community.

We signed the Covenant in 1987. I will never forget it. When I knew that I was going to sign the Covenant, I was overwhelmed. I wept with all sorts of emotions and thoughts about my life and my relatives who had never been baptized and never went to church. I said to Jesus, “Out of all these, you chose to pick me. Why me?” I heard the Lord speak clearly in such a loving voice, He said, “Because I love you.” I wept a lot because his love was overwhelming.

The Alleluia Community is my family of brothers and sisters, given to me by the Lord. They help me to walk the walk. They pick me up when I am down. They pray with me and for me. Two years ago my husband went to meet the Lord. We were not alone; our Alleluia family and our support group were there with us right to the end, praying around his bed.

It was beautiful and something that would not have happened if we were not in community. I am not alone, I am surrounded by people who love the Lord, who pray together, play to­gether, live out their lives together for Jesus. I am blessed to be part of that. Our leaders, our teachings, our retreats, our relationships are all gifts from God. We strive together to run the good race as a people who encourage one another, pray for one another, in good times and in bad. Our school, our teachers, our children all live for Jesus. I am so blessed to be a part of God’s people. It is good to be here!

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