Today was the day. She was planning to join the little church she had been visiting for the past several weeks. It was in the small Texas town where she and her husband had recently moved. They realized they were getting older and more frail, so they packed up everything and bought a house here, near their grown children. Now it was time to plant roots in her new church home. If only…
She walked down the aisle with slow, heavy steps. It should be a joyous day, but her heart was sad. The pastor grabbed her hand when she got to the front and placed his arm around her shoulders.
“Good morning, Mrs. Eason. It’s good to see you here today.”
“Thank you Brother Davis. I’ve enjoyed visiting this sweet church. I feel like family here, so I’ve decided to become a member. But…”
“Yes ma’am?”
“It’s my husband. He’s here with me, on the back row, but he doesn’t often come to church. Matter of fact, you may not see him after today. I’ve been praying for years, for his salvation. Would you pray for him also?”
The pastor glanced up and saw an elderly, stooped gentleman with sparkling sky blue eyes, wrinkled at the corners from his smile. In one hand, he had a cane, and in the other was his Sunday best cowboy hat. There was a spring in his step that belied his 70 plus years. He was walking confidently to the altar.
The pastor gave her a small hug and said “Mrs. Eason, if you turn around, I think you’ll see that your prayers have been answered!”
~~~~~~~~~~~
The story of my Granddad’s salvation is one of great courage and greater surrender. At his age, Grandad took that long walk from the back row to the front and admitted: “Yes, Lord, I believe You sent Your Son Jesus to die for me, a sinner. I need Jesus as my Savior.” Granddad yielded the life he had controlled for more than 70 years, to the abundant life of Jesus Christ.
That act of surrender, to salvation and the nudging of God’s Holy Spirit, was the first of many for Granddad. In the last decade of his life, the change in him was so dramatic, there was no denying God had gotten a hold of him. He surrendered his fiery temper to the fruits of the Spirit: patience, kindness and self-control. He surrendered his free time to the study of scripture. More often than not, you could find him reading his Bible while sitting in his favorite rocker.
There was a peace about him. Granddad had nailed his old, sinful nature to the cross, and offered what was left of his life to God. Time and time again, he surrendered obediently to God.
Oh, but that continual yielding is hard, isn’t it? Exchanging my will, my wants and desires for His. I would much rather sit comfortably on the back row, wouldn’t you? I mean, think what could happen if we move to the front: We could mess up, fail miserably while all the world watches. No, thank you, I’m happy back here. Aren’t you?
Why, then do I have this restlessness in my spirit, like there should be MORE to life than the view from the back? Because there is more.
When we feel like we are being nudged to move forward in faith, we need to pay attention! It very probably means we have to forgo our comfort for obedience, trusting God and His Spirit to guide us on this new adventure. Walking in faith when we’d rather flee in fear. Stretching ourselves beyond our earthly normal. Knowing – no, BELIEVING – that we have Christ living in us, and His resurrection power available to us.
This is what happens when we allow ourselves to be stretched: We have room for more growth. We have room for the Holy Spirit to move in closer to us, walking with us. Before we know it, we’re walking in sync with Him. In the surrender, we see how faithful God is to equip us for every good work. [tweetthis twitter_handles=”@eechauvin”]In the surrender, we find courage to surrender again.[/tweetthis] We’re stretched and pulled and extended so far beyond our ordinary, that we no longer look like ourselves. We look like Christ.
It’s worth getting out of the back row, now, isn’t it?
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42 (NIV)
Grace be with you,
What a sweet story about your grandad! It does inspire me as a Christian to keep taking steps of faith…moving from the back row. I’m asking…what does that look like even today…
Amy, great question! What does it look like? Does moving out of the back row mean you are moving into a highly visible area of service? Or does it ean you quietly serve behind the lines? I think the important thing is that we do stretch ourselves, and build that history of relying on Christ to equip us for every good deed. So happy you stopped by today! Blessings!
BEAUTIFUL! I can only imagine the angels celebrating your granddad’s salvation. I’m celebrating from here, even. Ellen, you’ve written a sweet and powerful post. And yes, releasing control and trusting Jesus is well-worth stepping out of that back row. #ThoughtProvokingThursday
Oh, Kristi, thank you! Whenever Daddy would tell us this story, we all ended up boo hoo-ing at the beauty of it! So of course when I wrote it, I cried a bucket. No sad tears, celebratory tears! Thanks so much for your encouraging words! Love you my sweet friend!
This is beautiful!!! What powerful words and encouragement! #livefreeThursday
Thank you Crystal! I’m so glad you were encouraged by this legacy of faith! Blessings to you today!
Oh Ellen! Your granddad’s story encourages me so much as I am praying for a very tough cookie in my family — who just happens to be 70! Bless you xo
Never give up praying for them! By my calculations, Granny prayed for Granddad for 30+ years!
I love the story about your Granddad- it’s never too late for God. And it’s so true that it’s easier to hide at the back sometimes but God calls us to step up and be part of what he’s doing- and each act of surrender leads on to the next one and builds our trust in God’s faithfulness.
Oh, yes, Carly! Each surrender build on or trust in God, and builds our history with Him! Then, when we hesitate due to fear, we can look back and say “I remember all those times God was faithful. I will step out again in obedience. He will be there for me!” Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Hi Ellen,
What a wonderful story and testimony! This is so well written and it blessed me a great deal. Happy to be visiting as your neighbor at the Linkup at Suzanne Eller, Proverbs 31 Ministries.
Thank you Pam, for your encouraging comments. I’m so glad you enjoyed the story! Blessings to you today.
What wonderful encouragement you have written! I love my comfort zone of the back row too much! I love your last lines. It IS the reason to get out of the back row. Thank you, Ellen…..Cindy
I’m so glad you were encouraged Cindy! Thank you for visiting!
Ellen, your granddad’s story encourages me to keep praying. No hard is too hard to hear God’s call. Thank you for sharing, friend. : )
Indeed, Crystal! Never give up! Thanks for visiting today, sweet friend!
Ellen,
What a great story of faith! And I agree that the surrender at the altar is just the first of many steps of surrender, some harder than others. But all are worth it! Thanks for sharing your heart.
Deborah, than you for visiting and your encouraging comments! Oh, yes, ma’am – some steps of surrender are so much harder than others! So glad you stopped by today!
I love to hear people tell their salvation story. The story of how they came to know Christ. What a reminder to us that no one, no matter how long we’ve been praying, is too far from God. Reminds me of that verse in Isaiah that says “surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save.” What a sweet legacy, Ellen!
Thank you Lisa! Beautiful verse from Isaiah. Yes, surely His arm is never too short. So glad you visited today, friend!
This is beautiful Ellen! I love the story of your grandpa. It gives me so much hope for someone in my own life. Thanks for sharing.
Keep praying Laura! Keep praying! There is always hope!