My Spiritual Journey, part 3--a taste of Heaven!

“We write to taste life twice, 

in the moment and in retrospection” 
~Anais Nin

FAll 1950

Westmont bound

healing begins

I left for Westmont in Santa Barbara that September, glad to escape the terrible grief and sadness which permeated our home after our little David's early Home going.

Arriving on campus was a little like a foretaste of Heaven.  True healing began as I found myself in the arms of a wonderful Christian atmosphere, which bathed me in love, prayer, God's righteousness, and so many blessings.

The friendships I formed at Westmont were deep and still strong today.

One of the things we did at Westmont was sing.  We sang in dinner lines, we gathered in the lounge after dinner and sang, we had 'sings', we went to the beach and ended up singing.  I learned that year that music is a 'balm' to the soul.

Our freshman class song was "Living for Jesus".

As I sang that song again and again throughout that year, the Spirit softened my heart, and I learned to rejoice, again, in who I was in Christ.  I have no words to explain the heights and depths of my emotions that year as I fell in love with Jesus Christ with so much more depth than I had ever experienced!

How could I sing the chorus from my heart

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

without life changing happenings in my heart and life?
 

...and then, there was the first verse which I soon could honestly sing and mean every breath of what I was singing!

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

It was a year of 

beautiful experiences,

beautiful friendships,

beautiful memories,

amazing healing,

and

life changes which have been with me through out my life!

*******
a postscript--today's Daily Bread had this quote at the bottom
"A heart in tune with God can't help but sing His praise."