Tom Tomerlin

“My wife and her mother were Seventh-day Adventists, and they invited me to an evangelistic series one night. I was hesitant to go – I was trying to convert them to the Church of Christ – but I went one night and the things that were said really stuck with me. They said Sabbath was God’s holy day.

That made me think a lot. I prayed, ‘Lord, I have kept Sunday all my life, if You want me to keep the Sabbath instead give me a sign.’

A couple of days later, we went out to eat, and I headed to the bathroom to wash my hands. Laying on the sink was a small glow tract about the Sabbath. I picked it up, glanced at it, and tried to put it back down. But I couldn't. It felt like it was stuck to my hand. So, I slipped it into my pocket and used it to study the scriptures when I got home. In the Bible, I found so many stories about people keeping the Sabbath. I was convicted. ‘Oh, my goodness,’ I said. ‘Lord, I get it.’

The next Saturday, I decided to go to church with my wife. We got in the car and all of a sudden, I told my wife, ‘You know, my favorite song of all time is ‘In the Garden.’’ She was surprised. ‘Tom. How is that suddenly your favorite song?’ I didn’t know. The song had just popped in my mind.

We arrived at the church and walked up the stairs to go into the sanctuary. As I started to sit down, two little boys came down with their guitars and started playing ‘In the Garden.’ I didn’t believe it. ‘How can it be God? There are thousands of spiritual songs and soon as we get here, they play my favorite song.’

Four weeks later, I was still going to this church. That Sabbath, a man came to the front to play the special music. He began playing 'The Old Rugged Cross.’ I didn’t say anything, but in my mind, I thought, ‘Lord, You played my favorite song for me four Sabbaths ago, but I haven’t heard it since.’ Just as the word 'since' crossed my mind, he hit the first note of ‘I Come to the Garden Alone,' and I teared up. I thought, ‘This is no coincidence. This is a God moment.’

Right then, I promised the Lord I would keep His Sabbath for the rest of my life.

One day, my daughter and I were studying the Bible. We were reading the account of Jesus feeding the 5,000. I said, ‘I want to know what fish Jesus fed them.’ My daughter was confused, ‘Dad, it doesn't say in scripture what fish it was.’ I replied, ‘Then I'm going to ask God.’

A few days later, we went to a grocery store. I told my wife, ‘I’m going to find a healthy fish that’s rich in omega-3s, good for the heart.’ I headed to the seafood section. As I was looking over the different types of fish, one of the employees handed me a little chart listing all their fish, so I started going over it.

Just then, a man about my height with black hair walked up behind me. He pointed at one of the fish and said, ‘Try that one.’ I looked at it and saw it was tilapia. I said, ‘I’ve never heard of that fish before.’ He looked me right in the eyes and said, ‘That’s the fish Christ used to feed the 5,000.’

I was taken aback. How did he know that was the question I had asked God?

Not too long after, I had an appointment with my doctor for a physical. I was still really excited about everything, so I started telling him the story. When I got to the part about the tilapia, he nodded and said, 'Oh, yes.' I asked, 'Doctor, you’ve heard of that fish?'

He replied, 'Yes, it’s found in the Sea of Galilee.'

At that moment, it hit me—that’s where the miracle took place!

Still buzzing with excitement, I went to the library to look up tilapia. I found that it’s a type of fish known for picking up shiny objects, like gold, and holding them in its mouth. That reminded me of the scripture where Christ sent Peter to retrieve a coin from the mouth of a fish, and I thought—could it have been a tilapia?

I don’t know—maybe this is just a tiny, insignificant story to many, but to me, it’s a beautiful reminder that He loves me. He’s 100% mine. Sometimes I ask, ‘why me?’ I’m just a little old deacon. But when you have childlike faith like Jesus calls us to have, He’ll answer your questions. He’ll walk with you and talk with you. You just have to believe—fully, completely—in Him and in what He has to say.”

-    Tom Tomerlin, from the Hendersonville Church, TN.