He Leadeth Me

I met God in a little farm house in the San Joaquin Valley. I knew there was a God but I left Him sitting comfortably up on the shelf until I visited some cousins in the valley one summer. I was only seven but the picture is vivid in my mind of a mother, father and daughter, who was ten years my senior.
They lived in a quaint farm house and we all gathered in the homey living room for bedtime devotions. The mother read from the Bible and the father, daughter and I sat quietly listening. The scriptures and prayers have been forgotten, but not the feeling of God's love and presence that filled the room.
In this brief evening devotion, I was introduced to God as a friend, comforter, healer of the soul and constant companion. That was only an introduction but not anything I pursued. I was young and did not realize the powerful being I was now just replacing on the shelf.
It was ten years later when I heard the declaration, "You have been chosen to receive the scholarship funds for a week at Methodist Girls' Camp 1944 in the beautiful San Bernardino mountains. That gift was given by the mother whose evening devotion had so impressed me at the age of seven. She didn't know I was the recipient of that gift of fifteen dollars, which had never been possible on our family budget. That proclamation placed my feet on the trail up the mountain where I was to make the most important decision of my life.
Our week climaxed on the last night at camp at a fire circle with a devotion. Then it was our turn to look within our own minds and feelings and write ourselves a letter which was placed at the foot of a small cross of branches and would be sent to us after returning home.
I had been raised in a Christian home and had attended church longer than I could remember. My relationship with God had remained with Him on the shelf. However, after tonight He was coming down off the shelf to be a real and personal friend who would be with me constantly to guide me everyday. This is the copy of the letter I penned to myself on August 3, 1944 and received January 1945:
Dear God from a rededicated Christian,
I have made a decision tonight to discipline my life when I get home to be a better Christian.
This has been a beautiful experience among all the trees and mountains that God has made.
I want to go home and work to bring more people to thee. I want to let my light shine so others can see Jesus in me.
With the help of God I want to do these things and have a quiet time with Him everyday so that I may talk to Him and
listen for His answers, and to read my Bible and learn more about Him so I may tell others. I want to walk in His
footsteps.
I pledge my life to Thee, Lord, and ask you to do with it in Thine own way.
Help me to be a good Christian and do Thy will.
Help me to have love and peace in my heart.
In all faith which I have in God I ask these things and pledge myself to Him."
I have kept this letter for these nearly seventy years and it has been a big influence in my life. During this time of soul searching and dedication I also made another decision that I had not anticipated.