Tuesday, January 31, 2023 Adventures of a Young Christian, Part 1

Last year I told my story of coming to Christ. This year, I thought it would be interesting to tell of my early days, months and years in Christ – quite an adventure! I hope you’ll join me. If you haven’t read the other story yet, you can start here: My Story Part 1

The euphoria of my new commitment to Christ carried me along. There was no doubt that I was not the same person that I was before…and yet, the transformation to this new creature that had emerged from the chrysalis was an ongoing process. “In many ways I feel very different. However, I feel also some of the same questions and fears about Christianity as I did before – it’s just that now I feel them as a Christian. What a difference a day makes.”

Less than one week into this new adventure, I was musing in my journal about how much I needed to learn as a Christian, how far I had to go. I was uncomfortable with my friend Tamie’s zealousness. “Some of the pat Christian phrases still seem so trite to me and I have to trust that as Christ walks with me, God will reveal what I need to know at my own pace. I’m on the other side of the fence now, but I’m still grazing on the grass nearest the fence post. It may be a long time before I frolic in the field.”

It’s interesting going back and reading the things I wrote in those early days and months. The struggle with overeating (or at least being obsessed with perceived overeating) was a continuing source of distress for me. I viewed it as the main battlefield in my life. I confided to Tamie that I was struggling with a particular demon, but didn’t tell her what it was and asked her to pray for me. Keep in mind that I was not overweight and was neither bulimic nor anorexic. One can only wonder what things may have leapt to her imagination upon hearing my confession. I had a very rigid and legalistic view of what it meant to be righteous in that area, my “most miserable sin.” In retrospect, this preoccupation seems wildly out of balance, but there’s no doubt that in the moment, it kept me on my knees with an attitude of humility.

When I’d been a Christian for two whole weeks, I wrote in my journal, “God I stand before you a wretched specimen of sinfulness.” The next day I wrote “Today has been nothing short of glorious!!!!!!!! …This is a joy unlike all earthly pleasures. So many new thoughts came to me as I spent the day walking in Christ.” Things continued in that up and down way as I read the Bible and tried to understand this new life. I was afraid to go to church, afraid of the commitment I’d made, and yet I was determined to be baptized. I felt inadequate as a Christian and puffed up at the same time, wanting people to think I was wise and discerning.

Early on, I had an amazing thing happen to me, just when I needed a boost. I had met a young woman named Jodie in the nursing program who was living in the same dorm and going to the same church. She invited me up to her dorm room for a little chat, having discovered that I’d become a Christian. As we talked, I realized how mature her faith was and how much I could learn from her. I prayed a silent prayer, ‘Lord, I’d really like to be mentored by Jodie.” I had no sooner prayed that prayer when Jodie said, “Lynn, I’d really like to mentor you in the faith. Would you be interested in that?” I was astonished! And of course I said yes. We decided to meet weekly to pray together (I’d never prayed in front of anyone – gulp!) and discuss the scriptures. She told me to write down any questions I had and we’d talk about them. It was just what I needed. I copied Matthew 7:7-8 into my journal:

Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and you will find,
Knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives,
He who seeks, finds,
And to him who knocks, it will be opened.

I had asked and received. I had sought and found. I had knocked and the door had opened up. I moved a little farther from the fence post.

I’ll probably delete this in the morning, like I usually do. Ha!

Next up:
Adventures Part 2