Through a Child's Eyes

When I was little I had the pleasure of knowing two great girls who took me to church with them on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings. From the ages of five to nine I was exposed to two different churches. I’ll never forget some of the great times I had at both of them, as well as one horrific moment at one when I was anointed with oil and told to pray at the altar (trust me, it was scary at the time). Although I was little, I had listening ears and viewing eyes that were already making opinions from the way these people treated and acted around me.

                                         

One church I found to be fun, lively, welcoming, and genuine. I went on Wednesday nights for their Awana program and although I never remembered anything from the Bible, I do remember the great big delicious sugar cookies we decorated during snack time and the cool games we played in the auditorium. It’s no surprise that it was my favorite church to attend. I even considered going there at a time I was looking for a church to attend after I was saved.

The other church was kind, loving, but also big and loud.  I’ve never been to a church where people spoke in tongues, but sometimes it felt like it was one step from going there. I remember going to a Wednesday night worship service and being awed by the big band that played and being intimidated by the booming voice of the preacher. I also remember the time kids in my class having to stand up at the altar and be anointed on the forehead with oil and told to pray. I don’t come from a Christian background, so when they started anointing with me with oil and moving me towards the altar to pray, I was petrified. They might as well have been performing an exorcism on me. In fact I bet I was afraid they were doing just that. Anyway, all I knew about prayer was that it was talking to God, which is probably the only thing I knew about him at the time.

Like I said, it was a great blessing to know these girls and although they’re not a part of my life now, let alone after I turned twelve, I still have a place in my heart for all that they were willing to show and tell me about God. I’ll never forget the times I asked them questions and they would go to their parents for the answers. I was probably eight or nine, when I asked my friend if the Devil made all bad things in the world. She didn’t know, but she was willing ask for me. It was that kind of mind set and curiosity about my friends’ faith that intrigued me to search out answers even when our friendships ended and I had gotten older.

Around the age of thirteen I started to ponder who God was. I always had in the back of mind that there was a God, but I just didn’t know who he was. So around the age of fifteen, I started to read the Bible in hopes of finding answers, just as my friends did. Long story short, what I found were answers and in the summer of 2005, I was saved!!!

My faith in Christ did not start from being in a Christian family, hearing a sermon, my head being anointed with oil, or reading the Bible. It started from the testimony of my friends and their churches. Although I saw an example of a church I wouldn’t want to attend, it did not scare me from searching after the God that they claimed to worship. The church I felt most welcomed gave me a lasting impression that made me want to continue to seek out who God was. I didn’t know anything about who Jesus was until I started reading the Bible when I was fifteen. I didn’t even know the simple definition of what sin was. All I knew was a book, memories of fun church times, and loving friends and their families, and the emptiness I felt when I was fifteen.

Through a child’s eyes, I saw the churches, the way they taught and treated me, along with the way my friends and their families lived. Through a fifteen year old’s eyes, I remembered the churches and friends, and sought to know what they knew about God. In a twenty two year old’s eyes, I wonder about the children at church and what I am teaching them to live for later on in life. Will those who come from non-Christian homes forget church five years after they stop coming or will they seek answers for life’s most important questions? Even then, will my teachings or influence be worth it for them to want to consider the Bible for answers? I don’t know, but I do know my heart is for the kids without Christ because I know someday soon they’ll be making their decision whether or not there is a God. And if they believe there is, where will they look for the answers?