As I look back over my life, it seems the years have passed by so fast. I cannot express how grateful I am for the opportunities God has given me. As a young child, God gave me the most wonderful parents. They introduced me to God’s Son and exemplified the love of Christ in our home. As I grew older, I learned from my other family members, my pastor, and other church leaders. My Sunday School teacher encouraged me to learn the books of the Bible. She gave several incentives and rewards, and it did the trick. The Bible drills and practice she did with my class solidified our comfort with turning in the Scriptures. I am still able to find the verses in my Bible because of “Mema.”
My teenage years were very challenging. I learned what not to do and entered the school of hard knocks. I had relationships that were not healthy and those that were honoring to God. Through these failures, I learned how to forgive and accept forgiveness. When you reach 18, you think you know everything, but you soon learn how little you know and how much you need to learn. My parents became so much wiser with each new responsibility that I had to add to my life.
As you know, I am married and have beautiful children and grandchildren. My husband and children have taught me so much about life. The lessons I learned from the mistakes and the blessings of raising them and growing with my husband could fill volumes.
I have learned many things from just observing the world around me. Whether it be a beautiful tree, a strong wind, or the paint peeling on the wall, God is in it. We can learn many lessons throughout our daily lives if we will pay attention and look around us.
As I have gotten older, I realize I still have so much to learn. I also know that if I am given the gift of life, I will learn many more things over the coming years. The lessons throughout my life have helped me to grow in my Christian walk. If I had to choose the most important lesson in my life, it would be never to play church. The cost is far too great. Playing church could have cost me my soul.
I do not remember my very early years, but I do remember being in church from a very young age. My parents said that I was in church a week after I was born. We were in a small country church. My dad was a charter member, and he was very active in church. I know that he was a deacon, and he led the singing in our church on occasion. My father was active in the nursing home ministry and served everywhere he had the chance. My mother was the church secretary. I don’t remember when she was anything else.
When I was seven years old, our pastor gave an altar call. My friend was sitting next to me and poked me in the side. She said, “Let’s go down front and get baptized.” I said, “Okay,” and we went down to the altar. My pastor spoke to me about salvation and asked me several questions. I had been in church, so I knew all the right answers. I was baptized, more accurately dunked, and everyone thought I was saved.
I was very active when I became a teenager. I was a leader in the youth department. I worked in the bus and puppet ministry, and I sang in the youth choir. I gave up my Saturday mornings to go knock on doors to try to get children to ride the bus on Sunday. Everyone thought I was a strong Christian but me. I went to a youth retreat, and we had a great time. We broke into small groups, and we had a questionnaire to fill out. There were several questions, but the last one was, “If you died today, would you go to Heaven or Hell?” The question hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew I had been playing church. In Jude 1:22-23, the Scripture says you win some by love and some by fear. The Lord got my attention by fear.
I began to cry uncontrollably and told our youth leader that I had been playing church. I had been afraid to admit it to anyone, and I felt I would embarrass my father. The fear of dying without Christ and going to hell got my attention. I accepted Christ that night and so did my brother. I called my dad and told him what I had done. He was surprised and thrilled. I shared in church on Sunday about my salvation experience and warned others who might be playing church. I shared the verses in Matthew 7:21-23. The Bible teaches that people may pretend to be saved, but God doesn’t know them.
“Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them. I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
I learned a valuable lesson that day. I had to say no to my pride and yes to the wooing of the Holy Spirit. The devil will try to deceive us and tell us lies to keep us from giving our hearts to God. I have had many battles with my pride and listening to the lies of this world. I am thankful that I did not let my pride take away the joys I have had since that moment.
How about you? Are you sure of your salvation? Are you letting your pride get in the way of knowing that you are saved? I am so thankful that I made things right when I did. I no longer am afraid of dying. I am not wanting to hop on the next train, but I know my destination. Do you know where you are headed? I hope so. Come to Christ today!
Mrs. Worthington has five children and twelve grandchildren. She serves as Principal of Pathway Christian Academy in Goldsboro