There's no way that I will express this with the awe and glory to the Father that I feel, but here we go...
Gehrig has always had a tenderness towards God and His Word...an amazing God-gift for us as parents to watch. Even as a 3yr old, we would find him asleep in his bed laying on his Jesus Storybook Bible, open to the picture of Jesus on the cross. He has known the right answers, loved Bible stories, memorized scripture, spent time in the Word and prayed daily. But even though he had told us multiple times that he had asked Jesus into his heart in his bed, he got embarrassed to talk further about it and we weren't quite sure of his understanding of the lifelong commitment to personally follow Christ. Sometimes we have wondered if his compliant, rule-following personality has kept him from truly realizing his sinfulness and need for a Savior and Lord. We also did not want to push him in any way towards this most important decision.
The night we got back from our Savannah weekend, we finished doing our normal Bible time (from 2 Corinthians 9-11) before bed and Gehrig quietly asked, "When can I give my life to Jesus, Mama?" I can't explain how, but I immediately knew this was different. I told him that he could do it anytime he felt like he was ready and he then asked, "Will you help me do it tonight?" After putting the girls to bed so that we could talk more, B and I spent time talking, listening and praying with him. B led him in prayer and he happily accepted the gift that Jesus died to give us all! Freedom from sin, Holy Spirit-indwelling and eternal life with God. It's hard to hide the best feeling in the world! :)
I love the way the Message version says a part of Hebrews 9: "Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God." I can't wait to watch this sweet boy live all out for God now that he is a new creation! He is excited to be baptized in a few weeks and so cute talking with us about it. He is still a little shy talking about it with others, but we know that will come in time.
The next morning, we went out to celebrate his spiritual birth :). I love this boy, love his heart, love spending time with him and am so thankful that he is now also my brother in Christ. I pray that he follows hard after Jesus and lives a life that is about Him and Him alone....making an impact on those around him for the Kingdom.
And selfishly, I am so grateful to know that no matter what happens in this crazy world, he will be with Jesus forever. "I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4 Thank You so much, Lord, for this greatest joy.
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