Adventures in Alexandria

I am home from the east coast. We did a whirlwind trip that included Annapolis, Alexandria, Anne Arundel, and Arlington. The hours were almost all filled with family and a few friends, but Mr. M. and I did manage to steal a few hours alone . . . together. We walked around historic old town Alexandria and sat for a while outside of a cute coffee house. I walked up the street to a used book store that had caught my eye. To no one's surprise, I found and bought a book. It is Great Voices of the Reformation by Harry Fosdick. The book is great, and I would have "just had to have it" at any time, but it was an especially great find at the time, because I have been thinking lately about my Christian testimony, and how much the Reformation has shaped my own thinking and life.

I was in a Catholic high school, and disgusted with my friends' apathy toward religion. Having studied the Bible earlier in my youth, I did believe in Jesus Christ, and I believed that He is the only way of salvation. I believed what the Bible taught, but I didn't obey it. I wanted to know more, though. I went to Catholic school to get a better high school education, so I regularly went to mass. I think I was one of only a handful of students who was paying any attention. I was frustrated with the hypocrisy, but I just kept doing what I had to do. Then, we started to study the Protestant Reformation in history class, wherein some men got the idea that people might like to read the Bible for themselves. Despite great danger and many persecutions, the Holy Bible was set free, and made available to everyone, not just clergy. I thought that was a great idea, and I began to read the Bible. I started going to a church that taught the Bible, with kids my age who loved the Bible. It was then that I began to obey the Bible, to pray to God, and to proclaim Jesus Christ as my Savior. I praise God daily for the salvation He offers through His Son, and I praise Him for the brave men and women who made it possible for me to read the Bible.