Big Decision

    I had thought to write about this in the previous post, however, I thought it deserved a post all on it's own.
Last Sunday turned out to be a big day for my and my youngest son Matthew.  We were in sermon listening to the guest pastor preach.  He was telling a story of young girl who wouldn't let her pastor pray with her and accept Jesus in church.  Then after church the girl and her parents were in a car accident on the way home.  The parents survived but the girl was trapped in the car. While they were trying to get her out the car catches fire and the girl cried out at the very end that she wishes she would of prayed earlier.  The guest pastor then asked us, the congregation, if we were 100% sure we would go to heaven.  If we were we were  to raise our hand, I didn't raise mine.  If we weren't sure then we were invited to come down for the invitation.
    I wasn't sure.  I didn't go down at first. I watched about 20 or more people make their own way down and I stood there.  I looked down at my son to see if he seemed like he wanted to go, however he raised his hand.  In his youthful look on life, he is sure he's going to heaven.  So he was fine standing there watching everyone else.  I glanced over at my friend and she was watching people walk down.  The pastor calls out the invitation again, asking everyone who didn't raise their hand to come down.  My friend goes "I really want to go down there." I said "Me too, do you want to go together?"  So as a group my friend, her husband and two sons, me and my son all make our way from the balcony to the altar.  She kept saying that she had heard if you knew, if Jesus was with you, you felt it in your heart.  She said that while she had been saved and baptized, she never had that feeling and was worried about it.  Me, I wanted to cry on the way down to the altar.  I was so scared and nervous about making this step I was shaking.  It wasn't a bad feeling, it was actually good.  It was like I had so much joy in finally making this step it was overwhelming me.  I was in a slight stage of shock from it all.  We sat down with the church counselor and discussed everything. My son and I filled out the info card for baptism and officially joining the church.  Yes last Sunday my son and I made the decision to be baptized.  We are already saved being that we let Jesus in, now we just have to be obedient in following his directions.
    One thing that made me nervous was my age.  How does a person, who has been to church several times in their life, get to their early 30s with out being baptized.  My only answer was it never felt like the right time.  As a child I never really felt the call, and didn't know how to ask.  I knew God listened to my prayers, I knew Jesus stood by me during the very hard times I had growing up.  I never took that step.  I guess last Sunday God told me it was time, take that step.
    Next Sunday, my family and I will get up and dress in our Sunday clothes.  We will attend Sunday school.  At the start of the 1030 service my youngest son and I will be baptized.  I'm excited about it all and I think he is too.  He was telling everyone he saw last Sunday that he was going to be baptized.  My sweet little boy.  My friends little boy made the decision as well.  It'll be a big day for all of us.