So today, my girls made the most important decision of their lives! They chose to give their lives to the Lord, asking Jesus into their hearts and making the decision to follow Him all the days of their lives! I couldn't be prouder of these two. So I want to share a little about this amazing experience of getting to lead my two beautiful daughters to our wonderful Savior.
They were at the table tonight eating their healthy Del Taco dinner I slaved over (😉) when Annabelle, out of the blue, said "mom I'm really scared to go to Heaven." I wanted her to clarify what she meant so I told her she doesn't have to be afraid of Heaven because Jesus will be there and then she said with a shaky voice and watery eyes, "I'm afraid that maybe He won't let me go in and then I'll have to go to hell. Will He let me go in?"
It was the sweetest question I've ever heard because it was so full of innocence and purity but I could also see an honest desperation in her beautiful hazel eyes.
I knelt down to her level knowing that my next words would be the most important she would ever hear. I said, "well sweetheart, if you don't have Jesus in your heart as your Lord and Savior, then you won't be able to go to Heaven. BUT, if you choose to give your life to Him, then you will. The Bible tells us that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. Do you know what saved means?"
She said no so I explained. "The Bible says we are ALL sinners. That means every single person in the world is a sinner. Do you know what sin is?" She said no so I explained. "Sin is all the bad things we do- everything that goes against what God has told us to do." The twins had begun to listen by this point so we talked back and forth for several minutes about sin- what it is and how we were born into sin and what the price for our sin is. Then I told her that she needs to acknowledge her sin and that Christ is the only hope for redemption and what that means. I explained that if she asks Him to forgive her then He will and He will save her from the punishment of death and that's what being "saved" means.
She told me, "I feel like He's already saved me from so much." (Gotta say those words melted my heart. It's still a puddle of goo right there on my kitchen floor. I'll never recover from such beautiful words.)
I asked her if she would like to talk about it more in the room and she said yes. Aubree and Nic both wanted to join us as well.
(Side note: Nicholas actually prayed and asked the Lord to come into his heart when he was about 5 years old but I've been waiting until he's a little older and understands a little more what that commitment means before he makes the decision to be baptized. But he still wanted to sit and listen with the girls.)
I grabbed a Bible and we sat on my bed. I read through the Romans Scriptures of salvation. We went through everything again but I wanted to read the direct Scriptures and we talked in a little more detail about living a life that honors and glorifies God. Then I asked both girls if they wanted to pray and ask Jesus into their hearts. Aubree was hesitant at first (not sure if she wanted to pray out loud in front of us) but Annabelle jumped right into praying. In fact, I had to stop her at first and make sure she understood what she was doing but she was eager and then I told them I would pray with them and then Aubree was eager as well.
They prayed and then afterwards I asked them some questions about what they had just done to affirm their decisions and make sure they understood what just happened. They were both so excited! For Annabelle, I could see such a look of relief on her face as if she had been worried over this for quite some time. Maybe she has. But I know she isn't worried any longer. She put her hands to her chest lovingly and said, "I just love Jesus so much and He just does so much to take care of us." She was almost in tears as she said it. My sweet girl has the most tender heart and it has always stretched out to other people but now it's the most precious thing ever to witness her opening up that beautiful tender heart to our amazing Lord and Savior- now HER Lord and Savior!
Aubree has always been my quieter one who shies away from attention as well as things she doesn't really understand but after her prayer, she was so full of happiness and boldness. We called both of their grandma's as well as their aunt Jessica to let them all know about this amazing decision they have made! I am so proud of the young ladies they are becoming but there are no words to describe how blessed I am that they have chosen this life with the Lord!
(Nic - March 27, 2017)
