Trinity's Decision

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6

We had this verse printed on her dedication announcement when she was an infant. It is something that we have strived to do since her arrival - raising her in a home where she is taught about God. She has been in church, surrounded by wonderful teachers and caring adults, since she's been able to go. She loves her Sunday school leaders, her AWANA leaders and everyone who greets her as she walks through the halls. Church is truly her second home.

While we are very glad that she is surrounded by God's truth, it has also created an interesting dilemma as she has gotten older. We have been praying for Trinity to come to a point in her life where she asks Jesus to be her Savior, to realize that she's not a Christian just because we go to church, but because she recognizes what Jesus has done for her personally. Sometimes, it's hard to tell what she truly grasps and understands verses what she has learned and can spout back from rote memorization.

Last Wednesday was friend night at AWANA. Trinity has been looking forward to it since the first AWANA meeting three weeks ago. I've had to push her off for inviting people until the week right before friend night. She gave me her list and I sent out informational emails to the parents of the ten people she wanted to invite. Five of them were able to join her!! She was so excited to have her friends come learn about Jesus.

During the story-time, the leaders presented the Gospel, telling the kids about how Jesus was the Son of God, lived perfectly here on earth, and then died to pay the penalty of our mistakes and wrongdoing to allow us the opportunity to join Him and God in Heaven. As I went to pick Trinity up at the end, I was told that she was talking to one of the leaders and that she had some questions. I wasn't surprised, because she always has questions. I spoke to the leader as we were leaving and he told me that if she wasn't a Christian already, she was very, very close.

We got in the car and Trinity told us that she wanted to get baptized. So that night, we started a conversation and why people get baptized. She told us that it was to show other people that you have decided to be a Christian. So, we asked her if she was a Christian. She told us yes. She was downstairs during rest time one day, drawing pictures of a cross, Jesus and different worship images. Then, she began thinking and praying about the A-B-C's of becoming a Christian. She told God that she she knew that she was a sinner, that she had done things wrong (A-admit that you are a sinner). Then she said, that she knew and believed that Jesus was the Son of God and He had died for her sins (B-Believe). She was still trying to figure out how to confess, what did that mean and how do you do it (C-Confess that Jesus is your Lord)? We told her that confessing was simply telling others about what you believe, that you've made that decision.

I remember the day that she came up and asked me about what it meant to confess. It was the week before VBS. From there, I knew that she had made a decision, but I was simply trying to determine if she had actually gotten it. So, we've been praying for clarification for a few months. Through the words of another trusted adult and through our many conversations with her, we come to a point where we really believe that she has become a Christian and she could (and should) get baptized. Looks like that will be happening on September 20th.

As we ended our conversation Wednesday night, Trinity told us that she wanted to meet with him. So, Thursday afternoon, we all headed up to see Pastor Jerry so she could tell him her good news. It was a great time where she got to really tell people that she "had become a member of God's family" (her description of what's happened to her).

We are so excited to celebrate with Trinity as she has made the biggest decision in her life. Thank you to all those who have taught her and lead her to this point. Thank you to our friends who have supported, encouraged and walked with us. It's nowhere near over, but it is very good to know that all the prayer, time and energy is well worth it.

One down, two to go!!

PS ~ If you are one of our good friends and are hearing about this announcement through the blog, please do not feel left out. Between getting ready to head out of town and heading out on Friday, we haven't had much time to tell many people in person.