This afternoon, as I began a Beth Moore study, I found myself thinking about the first time I felt Jesus calling my name. I was surprised at where my memory took me. I'm sharing this with the high hopes that you will share back. I am not referring exclusively to when you may have "accepted" Christ. I mean that first initial tugging at your heart that there was a great big God out there who loved you. (I might also note, that if anyone who does not share Christian beliefs refrain from posting; or at least be respectful) As to my brothers and sisters in Jesus, I would love to hear about your moment.
I was surprised at how I identified with the story Beth told about her first encounter with Christ at age 2. I was 2 ½ when I accepted Jesus, but where did I first meet him? When I think about it, it was at West Highland in the 2s & 3s room and it was sitting in this big green plastic chair that was shaped in the form of an open hand. It was my first time at West Highland. I had been dropped into a foreign environment, and I seemed to gravitate to that dark green chair in the corner. I remember asking my mother why there was a “chair like a hand.” She said it was like the song ‘He’s got the whole world in His hands.’ God is big and He holds us in His hand because He loves us. I remember feeling quite possessive of that chair; I wanted to sit in it every single Sunday.
At school, I am studying the cognitive development of toddlers. We are taught that they cannot understand abstract thought. I have learned all about motor and mental schemes and how they are built. And yet, I assure you that at 2 ½ I understood that this chair represented something wonderful! When I sat in it, I felt protected, secure and loved.
Feelings of protection and security have often been absent in my life. By age 3, the world was teaching me to believe that there is no protection from hurt and that there is no one I can trust. From those experiences, I grew up with a poor understanding of love. How appropriate then that God called me in such a way. This was my first lesson, “Sarah, I hold you in my hand. I can protect you and keep you safe. Most importantly, I love you.”
"Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure." ~ Ephesians 1:4-5
" 'In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you,' says the Lord. 'I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes.' "~ Jeremiah 29:12-14
