Tips for triumphant living -- Do you remember?

How did you feel those first moments, the first hours and days after you discovered Christ as Savior? Do you remember? I do.

I was beyond ecstatic. I'm not certain my feet touched the ground those first months. I probably should have been locked up. You see I had lived in darkness for so long I couldn't contain the light. For the first time that I could remember I knew I was loved without condition. I wanted to tell everyone . . . and I did, whether they wanted to hear or not.

That was thirty-three years ago, and today I could use a bit more of that enthusiasm. In the first days of my salvation the world looked as if it had just been freshly washed as if in a spring rain. Life was filled with hope, joy and grace. I understood that Christ had gone to the cross, died, and had taken my sins upon Himself. His act of obedience to His heavenly Father and His love for God’s children, which includes me, lit the joy that radiated inside me.

Most of every day my thoughts remained on Him. Nothing seemed impossible because I was one of God's kids; I belonged to Him! I’d read scripture until my vision blurred, and talked with my friends about God’s power and love until the wee hours of the morning. I spent time every day thanking Him and praying. There seemed to be an endless stream of joy flowing through me. The light of God's love surrounded me, and I could see it.

Today, although my love for God is deep and I feel His power in my life, the newness is not as sharp or fresh as it once was. I’ve grown used to being loved and I sometimes forget where I came from. I lived in a pit of fear and misery, without hope.

And so, I choose to remember. I close my eyes and consider the old me and think on that moment of realization, the moment of renewal, and joy rushes back. I am again reminded that God's love is forever and that nothing is impossible with Him.

May we all remember and rejoice!

Grace and peace to you from God.

Bonnie