From Hard Benches to Heavenly Visions

I know this is very unprofessional and would never get a reward for the best-developed plot in the world, not that I wanted one, but here goes, I’m back-tracking again!

Okay, here we are all those little kids and their councillors sitting in a vast auditorium with a wooden floor. I was positioned near the front. This is significant because chances are pretty good that the rest of the story would have turned out differently if ‘we cabin girls‘ had been parked way at the back somewhere.

Those speakers must have really liked children, ‘cuz they certainly knew how to catch our attention! A whole table full of assorted tinkling bells and a ventriloquist are the ways I remember most.

But this exact evening they weren’t using exotic methods, in fact, I don’t remember anything special other about the approach other than the fact that the speaker was drawing our attention to the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.

There was an altar call given and I clearly saw a picture in my mind of Jesus hanging on the cross—for me! Dying so I might be saved, surrendering his life so that I could be free.

Those that accepted the invitation were directed into one of the tiny rooms at the front of the auditorium and a leader told them about the A B C’s of being saved.  Do any of you remember that? Was it Accept that Jesus died for you, Believe that you are a sinner, Confess what He has done for you to others? I don’t remember the exact wording but I do know I went away a changed child, happy, and at peace.  What a beautiful way to go through life, hand in hand with God.

P.S. I just hunted around for an appropriate picture to go with this post. I’m telling you, it gives quite a sensation to see a full-color image of something that closely resembles memories from my past.

Okay, here goes. I’ll pretty soon hit ‘send’! https://www.createspace.com/4837922

An Oasis in a Camp

Okay, backtrack with me, if you will, because I forgot some important stuff that I want to tuck in right here so you get the drift of the plot better.

Have you ever tried to put a puzzle together without having a picture to follow? It's pretty hard, isn't it? Well, I guess we all, as we get older, try to do that with our past in one way or another, don't we?

As I journeyed through my desert-like existence, I came across oasis's that were bright spots which nourished my soul for years to come. One of them happened shortly before I turned eleven.

Here we can pick up a puzzle piece that I only found recently. The reason I was at this particular place at this time, a Summer Vacation Bible Camp, was because my father was an electrician there, and I imagine they gave him a cut so us kids could join in all the fun. No matter what the reason, it was a blessed respite from the discord at home, and I, as a normally shy young girl, really blossomed for some reason. Not only that, but I got to know Jesus as my personal Saviour and through the following years, my dearest Friend.

Although many memories in the annals of time have faded away these details are pretty much picture perfect to this day.

There is one hitch, though. I knew what kind of home I was going back to, and even as a small child, I worried about being able to hang on to that glorious peace I had found by surrendering my heart to God.

We had a...what would you call it? It wasn't a station wagon, exactly because there were no seats in the back, just benches for us children to sit on, and I suppose Dad's tools when we weren't along. I was back there as we drove homeward and wiled the time away singing those catchy tunes learned earlier that week.

My Dad, who was driving, and my siblings may have thought I was just happy, but that was not the case, I was praying, praying earnestly that I could be a 'light' to my family. Do you know what that means?

Well, it must have been only a couple days later when I ended up squabbling with my sister and someone said: "I didn't think anything happened to you, you haven't changed."

Oh, did that ever hurt! I went silent and walked outside. What was a little girl to do? I found my way to the front of the house where my mother had planted some hollyhocks; they were tall and blooming by then.

I think I was standing there, not really seeing them when the sweetest voice seemed to float in the air: "Lo I am with you always." Suddenly I realised how pretty the flowers were, how green the grass, and the sky was a bright, clear blue. Do you wonder why I have cherished that memory and even as I write tears moisten my eyes?

This is part of my memoirs from my childhood. Comments and questions are welcome.

Pays one point and 2 member cents.