e-mail 10/7/6 (2)

In the summer before I went into the 8th grade, my family moved to Hazlehurst, Ga. The house we moved into was next door to the old high school and directly across the street from First Baptist Church.

I did not know anybody in this new town but being across the street from First Baptist was an open invitation for me on Sunday mornings. My commitment to Christ had been made on April 15, a few months before our move. I knew that I must go to Sunday School even though my parents were not Christian or involved in church in any way.

I was shy but I made my way across the street and asked for directions to my Sunday School class. Someone took me up the stairs in the new education building and into one of the two assembly rooms that filled the second floor. I learned later that this was the Youth 1 Department.

I remember that particular Sunday morning for several reasons. First, I remember the sweet aroma. At certain times the smell comes back to me as if I were still in that room. I do not know what the aroma was but I am reminded in Revelation 5:8 that in the throne room of God there is a bowl of sweet incense that is the prayers of the saints.

Second, I remember the song we sang that morning and every Sunday afterwards, "Trust and obey for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey." In my personal opinion, this should be the Christian theme song but that is something to think about for another day.Third, I remember a special friend. I met her on a Sunday morning, her name is Jill. What an influence one 13 year old would have on another 13 year old!!! She came to see me on Monday, the very next day, and quickly she became my best friend, all through high school and even after we were married. She introduced me to Girls Auxiliary (today called Girls in Action) and there I was taught to love missions. I began to memorize Scripture for the different steps we tried to achieve in the Monday afternoon meetings. Jill later introduced me to Bob. She and her husband now serve as missionaries in a foreign country. We remain very good friends.

It is a good thing to look back over our lives and remember our journey. It is good to remember these steps along the way when God was directing our path.

In Jeremiah 29:11-13, God gives this message to the children of Israel who were to be in captivity in Babylon for 70 years because of their disobedience to God. "For I know the plans/thoughts I have for you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and pray to Me and I will listen to you, and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

"WITH ALL YOUR HEART" stands out to me in Scripture because to do something with all your heart means you give your best, your all. God wants nothing more or less.When we love God with all our heart, we will...

Share God's Love,
Peggy