We've had an exciting Spring at our house! Kendall prayed with us on February 9th to step over the line of faith and become a Christ follower! Such a huge day in our family and one we have been celebrating ever since.
Randy and I have been praying since before Kendall was born that one day she would make the decision on her own to follow Christ and become a Christian. And that as she grows, she would follow hard after him and not depart from what she chose as a child. We have prayed that we would know when God was working in her life, drawing her to Himself, and that we would have confidence when it was time to lead her. She has grown up learning about Jesus, hearing about what He has done for her, and we very much wanted it to be HER decision to follow Him.
She has been asking very good questions about faith, the Bible, and Jesus for several years now. There have been times when we thought she might be close to making a decision, but God was always so faithful and good to show us that it would be in his timing and that we could trust him.
One conversation we remember happened about a year ago. Kendall came to us saying she wanted to be baptized (she has watched lots of baptisms). We asked her what it meant when someone was baptized, and she said that it meant that person was choosing to follow Jesus. Yes, that's right. So we asked her what it meant to follow Jesus and why we needed him. She said because he died on the cross for our sins. We asked her, "Kendall, do YOU sin?" Her immediate response was "Huh uh!" Like, no way! I don't sin! So funny. We knew that her heart wasn't ready and it wasn't quite time yet, but still enjoyed continuing to have good conversations.
BUT, earlier this Spring, on February 9th, Kendall came home from school and asked to talk to me by ourselves, without the little girls around. I could tell that her heart seemed heavy, but she didn't seem sad. We went in my bedroom and she said that she had something she wanted to talk to me about, but that she was a little scared. She said she had been thinking for awhile that she was ready to be baptized. We went through the whole conversation about baptism again: what is it, what does it mean, etc. She had all the right answers. I explained to her that being baptized isn't what makes you a Christ-follower, but that it is a symbol, like my wedding ring. People know I am married because I wear my wedding ring, but it isn't what makes me married to Daddy. She understood, and so I asked her if she thought maybe she was ready to choose to become a Christ-follower. She said yes, and we talked about it a little more, and I could sense that God was working in her heart, so I told her that we should talk to Daddy about it when he got home from work.
We had some friends over for dinner that evening, I told Randy about our conversation when he got home, and we decided to wait and see if she brought it up again. Sure enough, right before bed, she asked to talk to Randy and me by ourselves. We put the little girls in bed and sat on the couch in the living room, and she told Randy what she had told me earlier. Randy was prepared with paper and pen and drew out Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. She understood it all and was able to tell us that she knew she needed a Savior because she was a sinner and couldn't earn grace. Randy kind of kept talking and asking questions, and I finally looked at him like, "Ok dude - I think it's ok. I think she's ready." He was a little hesitant - even though he leads adults in this all the time, he just really wanted to make sure she was ready. We told her that we could help her pray and talk to God, but that we wanted her to say what was in her heart on her own. Another funny thing - Randy will say prayers for adults to repeat all the time - but he made Kendall say her own words. We helped guide her though it, and when we finished praying, we will never forget the precious smile she had on her face. We asked her if she understood what a big deal this was, told her we had been praying for this for a long time, and she was just so excited. So, so sweet.
The first person she said she wanted to tell was her teacher, and then her grandparents. We called everyone the next day, and she told Ms. Tiller when she got to school. She said she was ready and excited to be baptized, and began planning to have that at our sweet friends the Mitterling's house, complete with drinks and desserts. :) It has been so fun to watch her excitement and to continue answering questions she has had and have sweet conversations with her. We just love her precious heart and are so thankful for the grace of our Lord that has saved her and given her new life!
One step that all of our children go through when they make this decision is to talk with our children's minister, Kathy Peters. We set up a day to go meet with her, and Kendall talked with her and Cindy, our elementary-age coordinator, about what she had done at home with us. Kathy told us she was able to answer all her questions and that she felt like she really understood what she had done.
We are so happy about Kendall's decision, and are confident that, as much as a 7 year old can understand about the cross of Christ and how he took our place, she does. Randy and I are still continuing to grow and learn more about grace, and know that it is a process that Kendall will be on for the rest of her life. We are rejoicing that she has made this decision now though, and will continue to disciple and teach her as she grows to love the Lord and learn what it means to follow Him!
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