When I was 13 I went to church camp at Camp Galilee in southern Missouri. This was an intense experience and remains firm in my memory. Every evening we would have a 'service' at The Slab. We would have a short sermon and sing a bunch of songs designed to make the most of the hormone-ridden teen's emotional state. We would cry and cling to each other, moved to tears. I honestly felt as though God was there with us. I experienced the spirit, but this was not the first time.
There was a day when I was young, about 10, maybe a little younger. I was in the field behind my house, bored. I kicked back in the grass, looking at the sky. As I lie there staring at the clouds they moved in front of the sun and I felt as though I was asleep but half-awake and the sun began shining between the clouds with distinct 'rays'. I was frozen and then Jesus appeared to me. He was Love. He was Everything. I got but a moment's taste of the entire universe in that vision. All was clear and nothing else mattered. But it was fleeting. I tried to make it happen again, to no avail.
There have been times since then, but not nearly as literal. I think my young mind was so impressionable. I dreamed my grandfather died the night he died. But the most powerful surrender I have ever experienced was the last night of church camp when I was 13. We were at the Slab. We had a sermon and then there were to be some 'kids' bearing witness to how they received Jesus into their hearts. I received Jesus into my heart that night. For real. I physically felt overwhelmed by the Presence of the Lord, the Spirit. I proclaimed him my Lord and Savior and from there on my own Discovery of my Spirituality began. Properly moved and exhausted I felt peaceful and full. At that moment it was the Answer. There were no questions.
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