Looking at Life…
July 27th 1980 was a balmy summer day. I was nervous, yet filled with anticipation. I was barely 15 years old and a group of us wanted to be baptized. I attended a local Baptist Church and way back then, they provided everyone with long, white, zippered robes to be immersed in. I don't believe anyone ever stopped to take note that they were extraordinarily heavy when soaking wet and very difficult to move in once out of the baptismal. But we all did it and one by one we proclaimed our faith in Jesus Christ. My youth leader got baptized that night along with several friends. One boy gave me a rose he had stolen from a neighbor's garden and I remember that he got in serious trouble for doing so. Youth weren't popular back then and church youth weren't viewed any kinder than the non church kids. The boy just wanted to tell me he was proud of the step I took and he seized an opportunity to show me. How could he know a "curtain twitcher" would catch him in the act! I also remember my mum buying me my first Bible. It was the Good News Version. I had just about nagged her to death telling her that I needed my own Bible and that was the one she chose. I wish I still had that Bible but it was given away many years ago…Judy, I wonder if you still have it.
I'm not sure why I am getting all nostalgic today but my mind has traveled back in time and I am found reminiscing about my growing up years. It actually took me 2 years to decide to get baptized. For one, I had to convince my parents that I hadn't been brainwashed, and second, we had to wait for the right opportunity. This morning when I woke and realized that it had been 42 years since that very public declaration, a warm sensation of gratitude flooded my soul. I know the decision I made back then has guided my life ever since. It's almost 44 years now since I gave my life to Jesus and in that time I have been tested in every possible way and definitely seen my share of hardship. My faith has stayed the course and though sometimes tempted to stray, I am still His.
So why am I sharing this with you today? Well…I think there's maybe someone out there in my little circle that needs hope today. I do not brag when I say that my life has been hard, I share it because in every difficulty and every struggle, I was never alone. God told us that He would never leave us or forsake us and I want to tell you that 44 years into this beautiful, amazing, awkward, complicated life, I'm still standing all because of grace. Grace has held me tight when sorrow and disappointment smothered my every breath. Grace lay beside me on my deathbed and soothed my weary soul in times of pain and sickness. Grace took me by the hand when I received bad news from doctors and grace lifted my head to trust one more even when my heart was betrayed over and over again. Life is messy and wonderful and unpredictable all at the same time, but it's worth it! Breathe it in and gasp with delight. Twirl and dance and sing at every opportunity and if you can't it's ok. Be still, let Him love you right where you are and when the time is right, He will set your feet upon the path you need to travel and His promise to never leave you is as good today as it ever was.
