Beth's Rebirth Day

Dear Beth,

I'm writing you this letter because Sunday, April 26th, is a day you will want to remember. However, because you are so young (8), you will most likely forget the details of today, so I'm writing them down for you.  The day started off as any normal Sunday would for us, with church, but it is what you told me after church that ended up making this day so special...

I had just finished teaching Sunday school, and I went to check on you: your Sunday school class was staying after church to plant flowers around the grounds, and you were staying to help.

I found you in your regular classroom, and you spotted me peeking in at you.  When you saw me, you quickly ran to me and pulled me aside - your eyes were all aglow and you had a huge smile on your face.  You said, "Momma, I have to tell you something. I asked Jesus into my heart today!"

Shock. Joy. Wonder.  All these things suddenly flooded my soul.  I responded, "Really?!" I hugged you, offered congratulations, and said, "When I get done with my VBS meeting, you'll have to tell me all about it." You nodded, still smiling from ear to ear, as you went back to your class.

As I walked upstairs to my meeting, my thoughts were all about your smile and that look in your eyes. I could swear I saw something there that hadn't been there before.  Joy? Wisdom? Pride?  All of the above?  It was like you had a spiritual light-bulb moment that day!  And your first thought when you saw me was to share it with me.

At the VBS meeting, I spoke with our children's pastor.  He told me that during children's worship, you and a friend went forward to pray. He said that you approached an adult who was nearby and told him that you wanted to ask Jesus into your heart. That children's worker lead you in prayer, and he told our children's pastor what you did.

When I picked you up later that day, I took you out to a swing overlooking the nearby reservoir.  As we sat swinging and looking out at the water, I asked you to tell me what had happened in children's church. You told me your story which matched what I had been told by our children's pastor, so in an effort to try to determine if you really knew what you had just done, I asked you a variety of questions:

Why did you ask Jesus into your heart? So I could go to heaven some day.  Did you need to do this? Yes. Why? Because Jesus died for our sins. Are you a sinner? Yes. Where is Jesus now? In my heart.

I asked you some other questions that I can't quite remember, but I recall thinking that you seemed to understand the magnitude of what you had just done.  I tried to express to you how important this decision was. I told you to write down the date so you would always remember when you had given your life to Jesus. So that afternoon, you went to the store with your daddy and got a journal.  You wrote down what you did, and you also wrote down what you had learned in Sunday school that day.

My dear, Beth. On Sunday, April 26, 2015, you made a decision in faith for Jesus.  I'm so proud of you! Your life will be so much better for having put your trust in our Lord. I pray you grow in your relationship with Jesus.  Remember, keep your eyes on Him! You'll have times in your life when you get distracted, you will stumble, and you will sin, but know, He will never leave you nor forsake you.  He is yours, and you are His. Run the race of life with Him, my oldest daughter.  This is a decision you will never regret!

Today's forget-me-not: April 26, 2015 - Beth's Rebirth Day    

FYI: More about how that morning at our house looked HERE.