In high school, not long after contemplating God could be real, I had went to a Christian’s house for a slumber party. There were 22 girls there from Satsuma High School. We prayed for an hour holding hands in a circle and I was shocked that it was so meaningful and interesting that it only seemed like ten minutes (my, my what families could do if they replaced TV with that!). If you had told me beforehand that I would sit and be in prayer for an hour I would not have liked that.
I lost a piece of cheap jewelry (highly prized by me at the time) and swore up and down that someone had stolen it (thinking evil of others). Mrs. Dean, now Mary Dean Sikes, (the lady that hosted the party) with kind eyes, helping me look for it, was a little shocked with my value differences and was sure that no one had done such and quieted me with a loving firmness. I remember that as a defining moment not to think evil of your Christian brother. Lo and behold, there it was in the bathroom floor against the cabinet! I felt relieved and ashamed. Her values were clearly more pure than mine. I was saved AGAIN that night as I asked Jesus to be the LORD of my life. I was high emotionally for about two weeks after this experience but it did begin to fade. They had taught me the concept of having a “quiet time with the Lord.” It sounded good and I was trying to implement it with diligence. Just me and God, alone, talking everyday.
One day, a cheerleader from the party skipped up to my locker to ask how I was doing as a new Christian, and I, being in a deeply serious mood, kinda snapped at her, “Well, let’s see…I have had nightmares three nights in a row of Satan scaring and paralyzing me. My mom works at night and I am at home alone. Why would God, who loves me so much, allow this?!” I skipped all the “hello, thanks for asking, it’s nice talking to ya.” She didn’t wince at my sarcastic tone a bit but tried hard to remember just the verse I needed…”Oooh it is something about snakes and scorpions…here, here is my phone number, call me when you get home and I will have it for you!” I was flattered because I thought she belonged to a higher class than me but didn’t take her seriously. By the time I got to class, I had decided to throw her number into the wastebasket by Mrs. Salter’s desk. I got home that afternoon and fixed a nice big bowl of cereal (my habit everyday) and went to the TV. I debated on whether or not I would have my “quiet time” with the Lord since the new was wearing off and all.
Captain Crunch and I decided I would. So, I begin in prayer, "God why are you letting the devil do this to your child? Three nights of the same terrible dream. Don’t you love me? Are you really there?" I opened that Holy Book and my eyes fell on Luke 10:19 and it has been a part of me since. “BEHOLD, I give you POWER to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and NOTHING shall by ANY means hurt you.” Out of the thousands of verses I could have looked on, THAT very one? I mean in 1989 there was no youtube or internet for me. So, ironically I am digging a phone number out of the phone book (hated doing abc order as a lazy teen) that I had just trashed two hours earlier to call cheerleader Amy and tell HER the verse. This was a big deal to me because I didn’t know the Bible well and was a baby Christian. I was proud!
So, His word is alive in me.
One day, a cheerleader from the party skipped up to my locker to ask how I was doing as a new Christian, and I, being in a deeply serious mood, kinda snapped at her, “Well, let’s see…I have had nightmares three nights in a row of Satan scaring and paralyzing me. My mom works at night and I am at home alone. Why would God, who loves me so much, allow this?!” I skipped all the “hello, thanks for asking, it’s nice talking to ya.” She didn’t wince at my sarcastic tone a bit but tried hard to remember just the verse I needed…”Oooh it is something about snakes and scorpions…here, here is my phone number, call me when you get home and I will have it for you!” I was flattered because I thought she belonged to a higher class than me but didn’t take her seriously. By the time I got to class, I had decided to throw her number into the wastebasket by Mrs. Salter’s desk. I got home that afternoon and fixed a nice big bowl of cereal (my habit everyday) and went to the TV. I debated on whether or not I would have my “quiet time” with the Lord since the new was wearing off and all.
Captain Crunch and I decided I would. So, I begin in prayer, "God why are you letting the devil do this to your child? Three nights of the same terrible dream. Don’t you love me? Are you really there?" I opened that Holy Book and my eyes fell on Luke 10:19 and it has been a part of me since. “BEHOLD, I give you POWER to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and NOTHING shall by ANY means hurt you.” Out of the thousands of verses I could have looked on, THAT very one? I mean in 1989 there was no youtube or internet for me. So, ironically I am digging a phone number out of the phone book (hated doing abc order as a lazy teen) that I had just trashed two hours earlier to call cheerleader Amy and tell HER the verse. This was a big deal to me because I didn’t know the Bible well and was a baby Christian. I was proud!
So, His word is alive in me.
when I was in high school back in the late 80's we didn't have home computers or cell phones/smart phones...if you have the capability to imagine life that way for everyone around you--you can see how amazing this story really is...
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