I don’t have detailed memories of my youth, but there are a few, and, thankfully, looking at pictures helps. Another item that helps me remember meeting Jesus is the Bible my grandma gave me for Christmas.
My mom, sister, and I attended church every Sunday while growing up. It was the church she grew up in, and my grandparents attended. My dad’s mom went to a different church and was a little stricter in her churchgoing. At least, that’s how I remember her. But oh, how she loved Jesus. All my grandparents were great examples of what it means to live for Jesus.
When I was nine years old, Grandma Bernice’s church was having a revival, and we were all going. It was the last night; I only remember they showed a movie that night. I don’t know its name, but it scared a little girl.
I remember the scene that scared me the most, and as I think about it now, it scares me differently. The first time was for me and my salvation, and now it’s for my loved ones and those I don’t know—about their salvation.
In that scene, it is dark, and people are walking single-file through a cave. When you get to the midpoint, there are guards and a table. Then, the guards ask you a question. Your answer determines what path you will follow next.
One path went back up, but you stopped to have them put a permanent mark on your forehead or arm. Once the mark was placed, it never came off, and you were no longer free. So many took this path.
The second path went lower into the cave, and fewer people took it. Soon, you would come to a door, and only one person at a time would go in. In the middle of the room was a guillotine. Once you went through that door, the guard would cover your head and then place you at the guillotine.
As a nine-year-old girl, both paths were scary, but something inside me told me that if I took the path up and had a mark placed on or in my body, I would never be free. And at that time, I didn’t understand what that meant, but I knew I didn’t want to follow that path.
I don’t remember the movie’s ending, but I remember asking Mom what it meant for those who chose the other path. Why did they choose that path? She said that they were accepting Jesus, and when they died, they would live with him forever.
Soon after, the pastor and leaders began sharing the good news that Jesus loved us and came to save us from our sins. Now, at 9, I had no idea what sin was and that I needed a savior, but I sure knew that what I had just watched scared me, and I didn’t know what to do.
So, when they began singing “just as I am.” Grandma and Mom asked if I wanted to be saved, and I said yes. They both began to cry and walked with me to the front, where I confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
As I got older, life began to pull me to other things. I still went to church with the family, but that was all I did. Occasionally, I’d read my Bible and pray when needed. I just never knew that I needed a relationship with Jesus, too.
To be continued.
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