My Real Memoir
Funny thing. I knew my leap of faith was the most important thing I’d ever do. But I didn’t run and sing like Julie Andrews. Instead, with quiet conviction, I simply told my Creator, “I want to follow you for the rest of my life.” To which I could almost hear him reply, “Tell me something I don’t know, Mitch.”
But then, on impulse, I ran downstairs to the restroom my school of the arts had shared with a one-member church (two, if you count the preacher and his wife). The previous year they’d finally given up the ghost (not the Holy one), so I wasn’t sure if it was still there. “It” being the plaque Rev. Kohl had repeatedly hung on the wall, and I’d repeatedly taken down.
I opened the restroom drawer and there it was: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” It was corny, and so religious. Religious was something I’d never wanted to be (and still don’t). And yet, as I put the plaque back on the wall, I cried like a baby (which, spiritually-speaking, I was). Why? Because, as oldfangled as it was, I’d come to believe the words were true.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t imagine singing “Kumbaya” alongside pompadoured preachers and hippie-hating conservatives. So I ran back upstairs, knelt down in the dark, and completed my maiden prayer: “Jesus, I trust you more than I do myself. And I really do want to follow you. But, please, please don’t make me religious!”
Whereupon, I decided to follow Jesus in secret. Still, I did want to grow spiritually, so I planned to keep reading the Bible, and other books. But what other books? I suddenly remembered C.S. Lewis. I’d read his Chronicles of Narnia series as a fantasy-mad young atheist. I’d loved his stories, but found his allusions to faith intrusive. Would I now?
With new eyes, I re-read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and particularly loved the “intrusive” elements! The first time around, I hadn’t understood the need for the ghastly stone-table sacrifice of Aslan the lion. But now I saw that it was the very heart of the book, of all Lewis’s Chronicles, in fact. So I hurried to a bookstore, and bought everything they had by Lewis.
Few have begun their spiritual journey with as much baggage as I did. But nearly fifty years earlier a reticent Oxford don named C. S. Lewis had. Like me, he’d moved begrudgingly from atheism to deism to faith. In Surprised by Joy, he wrote:
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen (College), night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed; perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.
I’d found my mentor!
My Real Memoir is a series. To read the next one, click here.
Pingback: The Biggest Leap of My Life - Mitch Teemley
Thanks for sharing
My privilege, L.G.
Wonderful! He was also a large part of my early Christian years at thirty. Now I read everything Richard Rohr writes and realize when underlining things that I connect with, that I am underlining the whole book! It’s such a joy finding spiritual riches that we connect with.
I was at church one Sunday, when one of the parishioners
Said “I didn’t care for the sermon this Sunday, to preachy”
I replied, ” That’s okay, we weren’t worshiping you.”
;>)
A wonderful story with a very fine ending, Mitch. You have an easy way with words when it comes to a narrative.
Thank you so much, Danny.
Great post, Mitch. God has His ways of reaching us. I really enjoyed reading this post. Blessing to you, Mitch.
He does indeed, and thank you, Mags.
‘with new eyes’, this resonates with me.kind regards.
Thank you, Ezekiel.
Wonderful!!
Well shared, Mitch. Thank you.
My privilege, T.
C.S. Lewis is a phenomenal author, I have a set of his Signature Classics. It’s a challenge to “zip” through them and understand at the same time! 🙂
Yep, meaty stuff.
Pingback: Please Don’t Make Me Religious! – QuietMomentsWithGod
My husband and oldest son also gravitated to Lewis during the early formative years of their Christian faith. What a mind God gave Lewis! The right for allegory, the left for irrefutable logic!
Exactly, Nancy!
This is excellent, all your posts are great! I just wanted to say, YES…being religious does little if any good. Doesn’t usually bring more folks into The Kingdom, and sure didn’t make me a happy Christian. Blessings on you and your family.
Thank you, Rene, and blessings to you and yours as well.
Many thanks.
Perhaps someday someone will make some better movies out of the Narnia books.
They’re in the works. Let’s hope and pray for the best.
Hi, Mitch. Thanks for sharing. I love C.S. Lewis. I haven’t read everything written by him. However, my favorite so far is The Screwtape Letters. That book impacted me so many moons ago. We are a rebellious lot, aren’t we? Just don’t want the Lord to be the Lord over us. However, He still has the power to draw us with the power of His love. I’m so glad He does!
Amen, San!
Thank you for sharing. Amen
My privilege, A and K.
In choosing a mentor… one can do no better.
Thought you might say that, Rob. ;>)
I was deeply moved by your plea, ‘Please, please don’t make me religious!’ It’s a beautiful paradox—the desire to fully embrace Christ while firmly rejecting all inauthentic formalities. Lewis, a man also known as ‘the most dejected and reluctant convert,’ was the perfect mentor because he understood this reluctance on the deepest level. This article isn’t just about a journey of faith; it’s about the art of distinguishing between faith and religion. Thank you for reminding us that truth is found in relationship, not in ritual.
My privilege, Livora.
I simply told my Creator, “I want to follow you for the rest of my life.” To which I could almost hear him reply, “Tell me something I don’t know, Mitch.” I love the tell me something I don’t know Mitch that is humor at its best. Thank you for sharing
My privilege, Sibongile.
I am terribly scared of religious people and there are quite a few in my world. I think that’s why I joke too much 🤨.
I get that, Iba.
Always love to hear about someone’s first light.
Love this post. Makes good sense to me.
Thank you, Maria.
Lovely. It’s the only thing of Lewis’s that I’ve read. I encountered it in my teens, and his notion of “the northernness” registered with me. Thanks for ringing this bell.
My privilege, Jim.
I often ask people, “tell me about when you met / trusted / followed Jesus… and their eyes Look up and to their left (my right) that’s where we look when we are remembering… and then they “take me” there. There are differences to the story, but I’m looking for a remembrance of a real event Amen…
I asked a lady in her 70s once and she insisted “I’m always been a Christian” I don’t remember an event… I said “tell me about your wedding”. She told me the story – I said “that’s beautiful”. I think if you met the Lord of Heaven and Earth, Savior and King… you’d remember that… She paused and said, “you’d think is right”. Moments later she had that moment and I baptized her two weeks later and her life was changed!
What a wonderful moment that must have been, Jim!
most definitely …in conversational evangelism it’s about conversation and not church theology… just questions… let Holy Spirit realization come in…
she hardly missed a service until she passed…
I have quite a few of Lewis’ works and especially love The Chronicles of Narnia. I was also intrigued when I read that his favorite book was Phantastes by George MacDonald. I purchased a copy and loved it.
🧡
Pingback: You Are Never Truly Alone - Mitch Teemley
Pingback: On Being Awake in the Dark - Mitch Teemley