Attitude of Gratitude: Salvation

I am eternally grateful for my salvation.  No series about my personal thanksgiving could really ever be complete without it. Without salvation, there is no Bible Study Girl.  Without salvation, there is no hope.

I asked Google to define salvation.  It spit out that salvation is “preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.”  In my eyes, that definition covers it.  I accepted Christ publicly when I was nine years old.  I walked down the aisle at church.  I stood in front of the entire congregation and told them that I believed that Jesus died for my sins.  I declared that I accepted Him into my life.  I received the gift of salvation.

I did not get chills or goosebumps on that day.  I was waiting for something to happen.  Anything really.  I needed to know that my change was real.  Before getting baptized, I had to attend a class.  We learned about salvation.  They did their best to explain the new life that we had signed up for.  The most poignant part of the class for me was an illustration in the book.  They had an old dirty car go through a car wash.  It came out on the other side shiny and new.  That was it.  That was the change I was looking for.  I wanted to FEEL clean.  And not so dirty.

The day of my baptism arrived, and I was ready.  Fresh side ponytail.  Cute little dress.  They placed a shower cap on my head to preserve that little ponytail from harm or ruin.  I was dipped into the water and brought back up.  Wet.  A little cold.  And still feeling dirty.

Was I saved?  Absolutely!  I believed in Jesus with everything in me.  Saved means saved.  No matter what.  I just had to grow into that realization.  I spent years doubting my salvation.  Every time I messed up, I just knew that Jesus was through with me.  I am grateful that I now understand that I am His.  I am glad to realize that He does not take His gift back every time I stumble.  He died to save me from all harm, ruin, and loss.  And that certainly gives me an attitude of gratitude.  #wepreach