I believe it was her interpretation of Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. But we never talked about Hebrews 11:1 or what it meant to believe that God would do what He says He would do. I didn’t even think to wonder what God said He would do and if I believed it until much later.  

Ms. Helen did not focus her teaching on specific verses, the gospel, salvation, or how to apply the Bible into our lives. Her focus was catechism related, teaching us basic Christian principles and facts found in the Bible. She did not use an already published catechism like the Heidelbeg Catechism. Instead, she had come up with her own questions and answers that did not build on one another to explain who God is, why we need a Savior, or how Jesus is our Savior. Her questions and answers, written on old, worn 4×6 index cards, were a rather random assortment of facts that didn’t seem all that necessary to know. But I loved memorizing the answers and getting the most questions right from week to week. And those random questions and answers have stuck with me for 46 years:

She even had 8×10 color pictures of the 12 disciples and she would hold up a picture of a man with dark hair and some facial hair, wearing a robe and we would have to be able to identify each disciple. This was the hardest task of my Bible training. I could not tell those men apart and I wasn’t sure why it was important. Was it a requirement for getting into this place she called heaven? Was I going to have to recognize Peter and not mistake him for James? I wasn’t sure, but I worked hard to get them right, but often failed.

There were Bible or sword drills where Ms. Helen would call out a Bible verse and the first one to find it and read it was the winner. I loved those drills. I was fast. I did not know what those verses meant, how they fit into the whole Bible, or why they were important, but I knew being fast was important. Ms. Helen would give me her smile and nod of approval and so I knew I was doing church right. 

My friend was Baptist and she went to Awanas on Wednesday nights. They did things a bit differently and they had sashes with patches for what they learned. Man, I wanted a sash. Back in Ms. Helen’s class I asked about sashes and patches and was reprimanded. We do not learn about the Bible for a patch. We do it for Jesus. I wasn’t sure why Jesus needed me to do these things. But, here I was doing it anyway.

All of the flash cards and Bible drills and pictures of disciples did not save me or immediately bring me to see my need for a Savior and that my Savior was Jesus. But they did help me as I searched for God from my youth to my teen years. 

In my teen years, I went to camp at Cran-Hill Ranch and had an amazing group leader named Clark. Clark asked us if we believed that we would go to heaven and no one raised their hand. When he asked us why we all had the same basic answer in a different font – I am not good enough.  I’ve danced. I rode my bicycle on Sunday. I have lied. I have cheated. What if I smoke or drink? We all knew that we were disqualified. And that is when I heard the Good News. Yes, I am disqualified from heaven on my own and that is why Jesus came. He lived the righteous life that I could never live and He died to cover my sins. He traded His righteousness for my wretchedness. Faith, trusting into this as Truth, is what brings me and anyone and everyone else salvation. Faith in this Truth is how I can KNOW that I will be with Jesus for eternity. 

And then over the years, all the questions and answers on Ms. Helen’s index cards fell into place. What is faith? Faith is believing that God will do what He says He will do. What has He said He will He do? He will save me through HIs Son, Jesus, because He is merciful and gracious and not because I know some answers to some Bible questions or won the Bible drills. He said that He who began a good work in me will carry it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). He said that He would be with me in all of the hard things in life and never leave now or for eternity (Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 28:20). This is what He said He would do and I believe it and I have seen Him do it in me and for me. He has been with me in every hard thing and never left me. He is changing me, the way I think and feel and act, to look more like Jesus than like the person I have been. I’ve become more kind, gentle, empathetic, gracious, and able to forgive. This is not the person that I started out being.