Let's talk Religion

Man. I have been putting this topic for a while. It's such a BIG topic for me. Where to begin. Well, I grew up going to church. I have been baptized TWICE. The preacher who baptized me when I was 12 or so had cheated on his wife so I wanted to do it again. I had to make sure it stuck. I know. That's just weird. It was a big part of my life as a teenager and that was my own choosing. I am STILL grateful for the relationships I had during that time in my life. My church and my friends and teachers there sustained me through that tumultuous time called adolescence. I then promptly stopped going to church once I went to college. I was in a new town and I had new friends and I didn't make room for it. So. Now I am a mother and I have a little one to think about. And in my last blog post, the "25 Rules for Mothers of Sons" says that mothers should give their sons something to believe in so that they are never, never, NEVER alone. I have also recently read "Heaven is for real: A little boy's astounding story of his trip to Heaven and back. I downloaded it to my Nook tablet I got for Christmas and I couldn't put it down. I read it in about 2-3 hours.

I needed LOTS of tissues to wipe my tears away. An amazing story of a child's experience that is believable and, I dare say, true. I believe little Colton went to Heaven. I remembered from my own Sunday school lessons that Jesus told the grown-ups, "And a child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11:6). The whole piece of scripture says that the "wolves will lie with the lamb and the leopard with the goat and the lion with the calf, and a child shall lead them". I am no theologian but on it's face this scripture says to me, there will be peace and it's a child who will be a big part of that. Colton said that "Jesus loves the children"and he said it over and over and over and over. Jesus told the grown-ups to believe as a child would believe. Whoa. That's hard. But, back to my story. Now, I stopped going to church but God never stopped trying to get my attention. There was that time I went to the Easter service that first year after my Grandaddy died. I was in his church. The young preacher held up a small, old hymnal that was practically an antique and told the congregation that Roland Hutchinson gave it to him on one of his last visits with him. That was my Grandaddy. I think God was telling me, "Remember me". I'm crying now just typing it out. And since then, there were some dark days but God has put people in my life along the way. Reminding me to remember. I started helping out at the food pantry at Faith Baptist Church with James. I finally decided to go visit. I had been opposed to going to a baptist church because I grew up in one but I needed to go...and I needed to take James. I was nervous. Chris stayed at home. I quickly downloaded the Bible onto my Nook (there are so many FREE Bible apps) on my way out the door. I hoped to see the ONE person I knew there from the food pantry. And guess what? She was the first face I saw. She found me. God put her there? She's a homeschooler too. She helped me get James settled in his class and then helped me find my way to "big church". It's a BIG church. I sat alone. Learned alot. Felt the tears well up inside me. Tears of remembrance. We ate the Lord's Supper. I forgot to wait to pray before eating my bit of cracker. So embarrassing. So now I just gotta keep going. I knew that choosing to homeschool James would lead me back. After all, many of the pioneers of homeschooling choose this path when prayer gotten taken out of school. When religion was no longer ok. When children couldn't draw pictures of themselves praying at bedtime or Jesus on the cross. So, maybe I am choosing God again. It's definitely been on mind and heart lately. Lots of interesting videos going around on Facebook about religion and what did Jesus really mean or say about religion.

And interesting article in response to the video: Does Jesus hate religion? kinda, sorta, not really. But maybe I like little Colton's teachings the best. I can trust that he had no ulterior motives. He's was only 3 years old after all. He told of things he couldn't possibly have known. Most everything he shared with his parents can be substantiated with scripture in the Bible. Yes, I think a child shall lead them (us). And the most amazing part of his story is the search for a true likeness of Jesus. His parents had given up on ever finding a picture of Jesus that little Colton would say looked like Jesus...until he saw this picture:

When little Colton saw this picture, he couldn't believe it. He was stunned. You know who drew this picture? (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!) There was a little girl, a prodigy, who was also very young. She too had been to Heaven...many times though she never "died" like Colton. She grew up in a home where her mother/parents were atheists. Yes, Jesus loves the children. He loves me too even though I haven't been the best I can be. But one thing is for sure, He meant for me to write this today. James is taking a nap. Going on 2 hours now. THAT is a miracle.