Reach For The Golden Ring

It was a night during my tenth year and, along with four of my friends, I sat quietly as I listened to the speaker. It was a time of reflection for me with an important decision to be made, sooner than even I realized at that moment.

This was something I had put a great deal of thought into lately but, though I yearned for its presence in my life, I feared the outcome of the walk I would have to take.

Suddenly, the young girl beside me, two years my junior, stood up and passed by me, smiling. I watched her take that walk and realized I was allowing myself to be left behind out of my own silly fear.

On very wobbly legs, I stood, at first unable to move further. As my friend stepped aside, she looked back at me. I knew she knew that I needed that encouragement from her.

Putting one foot in front of the other, I stepped out into the isle and began my journey, a journey of a lifetime.

I can remember only the speaker’s hand as he reached to take mine. My heart was pounding and I was near tears. And, yet, there was a joy growing beneath the service of my fear that made me feel proud to have finally confronted the longing I had been carrying within me.

The following weekend, I found myself once again with my friends. As we stood in line waiting our turn along with some forty others, some whom were adults, my old fear returned to haunt me. The line moved ever so slowly, giving me a great deal of time to think.

As I watched the adults ahead of us, I was amazed that anyone could wait so long to make such a life changing decision. I wondered if some of them had felt the same fear that had held me back.

And, suddenly, it was my turn. I stepped into the warm water as I followed the small steps to the bottom, holding the outstretched hand of the man whose hand I remembered from the week before.

The water was just under my chin and my hands were folded there. He held his hand up with words of encouragement whispered into my ear. Then, as he held my clasped hands, I watched as I was laid back. My eyes followed the water as it slowly slid over my face. I could see, through it, the white robe and distorted face of this man who was responsible for my safety. At the same time, I realized I had totally forgotten my fear.

Just as quickly, the water receded and droplets were running down my face from my wet hair.

I was led to the other side and climbed the small steps slowly, leaving the water behind.

Though I was soaking wet, there was a feeling growing inside me that spread its warmth throughout my body. I couldn’t stop smiling.

Isn't it amazing that a child, though filled with a child's fears, can still be capable of so vastly important a lifetime decision. Maybe it is because, as a child, we are so much more accepting and our minds are unclouded by what the world is saying to us as adults.

I had not only faced my fears of submerging my head under the water, the fear that had held me to my seat many times before, but had made a decision to follow a path mapped before me by so many others.

Now, there would always be someone to encourage me, someone responsible for my safety, someone to help me conquer my fear...someone to always lead the way.

The stories heard of a man who had died for his convictions and had died to secure my own hope in my future now took on a brand new meaning for this ten year old girl.

That night, the night I accepted Christ as my personal savior, is now fifty-five years ago, a lifetime of days, weeks and years that have sped by so quickly that I find it impossible to believe their fleeting moments are so far behind me. The path I first stepped upon that night long ago has seen its share of thorns, uphill battles, side roads, curves, challenges, and failures. However, I have always known there was a way back when I have wavered and a hand to reach for when I have lost my way.

Easter Sunday in 1961, I found someone I could count on to love and guide me for a lifetime and beyond, through eternity. His name is Jesus and he was born with a plan set in motion by God on the day he was conceived. He knew from the very beginning that he had a purpose for the very air He breathed. There was a huge task He must undertake and an enormous burden He alone must carry all the way to His early death at the age of thirty-three.

What do you think it would be like for you to know what the future held for your life and know you did not walk this earth for your own needs but, instead, for the needs of every living person on earth...and for all those yet to be born? Can you or I even begin to imagine such a burden?

And, yet, Jesus never considered it a burden. He was more than willing to carry our sins, leaving for us a clear path to the gates of Heaven, to dwell at His Heavenly Father’s feet for eternity.

Easter is a time for us to remember what He gave up for each of us. It is a time for us to be thankful for His life and even more, to be thankful for His death.

Without the suffering of Jesus on the cross of Calvary, we would be living a needless existence with zero hope for the future.

If you are living without Jesus in your life, without Him at the wheel of your life’s journey, your existence is in that lost state of hopelessness and, unfortunately, you may not even realize it.

Take a few minutes to think about what Easter truly means to you. Are there visions of bunnies carrying bright colored eggs in your dreams or do you kneel, before those dreams, to thank God for the gift of His only son’s life and His death on the cross?

Do you reach for His outstretched hand, confident in your future and beyond? Or, do you ignore His hand because it may not lead you down the worldly path that seems more appealing at the moment?

The amazing thing about His gift is that we each have a choice as to whether or not we want to accept it. He gave it freely and we can turn our backs on it freely.

Or, we can reach for the golden ring of eternity, paid for us many years ago, and know, no matter the thorns we encounter along the path of our journey, we will be secure in the palm of His hand.

In whom do you trust? Is it the praised bunny whom is capable of making your world rosy with promised Easter morning joy of the sweetest pleasure your little hearts desire? Through him, we can count on a worldly, blissful morning of fun once a year.

Or, the Son of God, who gave his very life to insure that your eternity is blessed with the everlasting joy known only by those who accept his lead on this earth. In Him, we know we can only imagine the gift our following will bring to us after our journey is done. Through Him, we can count on His strength that will carry us every day of our lives and the promised joy of eternity in Heaven.