A Country Church and a College Student
My Salvation Story
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. — 1 John 1:9 NAS95
Hello Friends,
Every year March 4th takes me back to the same date in 1973* when a pastor named John baptized me in a small Baptist church on a hill in a rural Missouri town. I had come to Christ the previous summer—or rather He came to me—during Vacation Bible School that was led by a busload of college students from Birmingham, Alabama. I would love to reconnect with the young woman named Susan who sat with me on a church pew while she walked with me on the path to salvation.
God inscribed me on the palm of His hand that day and kept me there even through my ignorance and disobedience in the years to come. I am exceedingly grateful for His mercy toward me and that the grace He has poured out upon my life is fathomless and eternal.
The old cinder block church building is no longer there. The pastor who baptized me died many years ago. And I have no idea where Susan lives or if she still lives. But the prayer she prayed with me that day marked my heart forever, and the forgiveness gifted to me that day set my soul free. It just took me several years to step into the glorious freedom my Jesus purchased for me.
Thank you, Jesus, for drawing my heart to yours all those years ago and for faithfully and gently tugging it toward you when it ignorantly or stubbornly veered from your path. Thank you for continuing to teach me about obedience, holiness, forgiveness, freedom, grace, mercy, truth, surrender, trust, faith, hope, and divine love. You are everything my soul yearns for, the light my mind seeks, and the love that fills my heart to overflowing. Hallelujah.
In Christ,
Janice
*I am fairly certain of the year. I think I was nine the summer I was saved.
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