Oh, Happy Day!

Ok, so I'm tearing up just writing this update. But, trust me, they're only tears of joy. Last night, my sweet little girl decided that she wanted to be a Christian. Actually, I think she decided a long time ago that she was ready but her fear of having to make a public profession of faith in front of our church has always held her back. Sure enough, last night, as I was driving the two kids home after our church's Fall Festival, Ann Catherine suddenly burst into tears. I asked her what was wrong and she said she was scared to tell me. Of course, I'm thinking that she's had an accident or has to go to the bathroom and knows I'll be upset if I have to turn around and go back to Nanny & Pappy's house. But she surprised me! She finally admitted that she was scared to tell me that she wanted to be a Christian. I knew this day would come and have prayed for it since she was born but I never dreamed that last night would be the night. So I said a quick prayer for strength and words and went on to talk to her about why she was scared to tell me that. She said she wasn't scared to be a Christian. She was only scared of having to go to the front of the church. So, I talked to her about the fact that I'd walk with her and stay with her the whole time. She calmed down a lot after hearing that so I started to ask her about why she wanted to make this decision and asking her questions to find out how much she understood about what it meant. After talking to her, I knew she was ready. However, I felt a little weird about leading her in prayer while trying to drive the car! So I told her that as soon as we got home, we'd sit down and talk some more and then she could pray and ask God in her heart.

As soon as we got home, I changed Will into PJs and had Ann Catherine change as well. And then Satan decided to worm his way in. All of a sudden, I was filled with fear that I wouldn't have the right words and that her prayer to God wouldn't include the right things and I'd sabotage my own child's salvation. So I started praying once again and suddenly remembered a book Julie sent Ann Catherine last year when she started asking questions. It's a little book for children about salvation and includes the prayer of salvation. So I dug that out of all of her books and it turned out to be such a blessing - not because I was still afraid of giving her the wrong words. Instead, it was a blessing because it was written with words she could actually read! God's timing was written all over this event because a year ago I'd have to read all of it to her and hope she'd understand. Last night, I realized that, with the exception of a couple words here and there, she could actually read it all on her own! So she read through the book and we talked about each page and how it was describing sin and how it separates us from God and what it meant when Jesus died on the cross for us. She was so excited because she got it! She knew all that and understood all that! And the neat thing is that, once again, God's timing was ALL OVER this event! Brian walked in the door from a night of working at Cracker Barrell, just as we turned to the last page where it has the prayer of salvation. He was in tears but was able to watch and listen as his daughter prayed to receive Christ! What a precious memory for both us to have.

And there's one more thing to share. I had one other thought which popped up this morning as I was driving to work. I led my daughter to the Lord last night. Twenty-five years ago, my mother did the exact same thing with me. What a legacy to have and my tears of joy over the sweetness of it all are just spilling over right now.