My story

Chief Editor of the Bratislava information magazin www.inba.sk

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's

Psalms 103:2-5

If we take the powerful words of King David from this Psalm, there is nothing I had not experienced in the last 18 years. As a child I loved God through childish love and faith. In the morning I spent long time in prayer. My parents respected me, but they never forced me into anything. When I was playing with other kids in my neighbourhood I used to tell them how important it is for our life to go to church – although nobody ever led me to do that. Later on – during adolescence – I realised that I am not able to respect all my proposals; I probably had a great faith somewhere inside me, but I didn't have any concrete knowledge of my personal relation with God; similarly, I didn’t know I had to read the Holy Scriptures. I didn't really respect my proposal (notably in terms of religious duties). So I felt ashamed when I compared myself to people who seemed to be at a better spiritual level. Back then, I didn’t know that only God can see into our hearts and that our impression about devotion of other people can deceive us. I gradually suppressed all my interior reproaches and inculpation. When I did that, sin entered my life (in a furtiveness way but very steadily). In the working environment where I was (the media) sin was not considered like something “not good” for life. The reverse was true. People tended to consider sin like something that adds character to your temperament and forms your personality. Such wrong decisions were soon accompanied by my first life failures. My desire for a happy dreamt-of life was feathering away and I longed more and more for a good father for my little son (a father with everlasting values and a relation without debauch). I let my son study in a Christian Interdenominational school run by newborn Christian. I liked the way they thought foreign languages in this school. But since the earliest moments I was attracted by their presence. I sensed these people had something more, something I don’t have... I was getting more and more convinced about my wrong life attitudes. I understood this even before they started to tell me about their relation with God. I stopped smoking. I started to have different points of view about human values. God gradually started to prepare spiritual food without the intervention of any concrete person from the places I used to be in.

One night I watched a movie on TV. The name of the movie was "Jesus". I said aloud just for myself: "Jesus is God". I experienced the depth of this word in one second. At that time my son was already praying with his own words and in his words I felt the living presence of Someone.

It was the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in my son’s prayer was convincing me, rejoicing me, and encouraging me. Once I opened the Bible – the Gospel of Matthew. And I started to read. The words had their effect. In the morning I had a profound conviction, but also hope of love which was filling my interior and was witnessing the forgiveness of my sins. I cried and cried for several days. My heart was getting purified. Later on, some newborn Christians explained me what kind of experience I had lived. I became a member of the big God’s family. I entered the family of those who recognized Jesus Christ as their own Saviour and Friend.

Since the beginning I wanted other people to know the truth about God. I wanted them to be able to build the bases of their lives on the Word of God. I wanted them to have a hierarchy of values that cannot be demolished. That’s why I profoundly longed for and I still long for a transformation of the Gospel and of Christian values into the society. I wish there were no abysses between church life and natural lifestyle. I wish the whitened tombs of the Pharisees (who remarkably show their exterior piety) were not putting obstacles against real Christian life. On this way, in my professional life I had to learn how to find some specific means to provide information differently than purely spiritual media. I did this as editor in secular media. And I do this still today in local information media that I have projected by myself. I am carrying out this job today. God opened me the door for this job. I learnt one thing: when God is with me and I act according to His wisdom, nobody is against me. And if somebody were against me, he/she would fall down. To influence the media and to have a hierarchy of values built on the basis of God’s principles is something very important. I am very happy when I see beautiful people in secular world. I am very happy to see people who build values for the society. I am glad to encourage them, to discover and enhance their qualities, through the magazines for which I work as chief-editor.

I believe that the desire of changing the society based on the Word of God and on Christian principles has nothing to do with the Pharisees; the knowledge of God's love will grow in all spheres of society. I believe that in Slovakia there will be a new Joshua’s generation of people who will turn to the Truth; it will be a generation with positive views; they will believe that great and good things are possible in Slovakia: renewal of life, renewal of marriage, renewal of society.

I want to live for this vision, in my surroundings, in my city and in my country. It is a new and beautiful vision, a transformation of values. I believe that the new Joshua’s generation will bring the edification of the Kingdom of God here on earth - not private religious empires or personal ambitions. All people like us – who have these desires in our hearts – we have to protect ourselves, because God wants our hearts first, and then He will make good things (those good things we are dreaming of).

PhDr. Henrieta Hrubá