I found a poem I wrote as a 19 year old as I was rearranging some files. It is not world class, by any means, but shows the grateful heart of a young christian.
That First Sunday
Many years ago, when I was but four,
At our house in Midland came a knock on the door.
My Mom opened the door and he said, “Hello!
We’ve a bus from the Church, May your children go?”
My mom, a good mother, was worried a bit,
But he won her over with his charm and his wit.
Mom said, “Yes. They may go, if you watch them with care.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “They will go as a pair.”
That first Sunday we went, my sister and I.
We stepped on the bus with a gleam in our eye.
We sang songs about Jesus. Oh, we had fun!
We learned from the Bible what Jesus had done.
How He came down to earth and died on the Cross
To pay for the sin of all of the lost.
And if they’ll only but ask Him, they He will receive.
He’ll take them to Heaven if they’ll only believe.
Many things have changed since that first day.
I’ve finally grown up. I’ve matured many ways.
Now on my way to Heaven, thank God I’ve been saved.
Now I’m a preacher. Now I’m God’s love-slave.
I’m glad to heading down God’s bright way,
But it all started on that first Sunday.
By Paul Chapman in 1996