I Surrender All

Yesterday I was looking at some new postings on blogs I like to read and one of them had an entry entitled "Sunday Song." Every Sunday "Bless Our Nest" has the story of a great old hymn. This Sunday's entry was I Surrender All. That hymn has a special meaning to me because that was the invitation song that the choir was singing when I decided to walk down the aisle and make a profession of faith. At that time we were attending Freeway Baptist Church, an independent Baptist Church, located on Telephone Rd. in the east end of Houston. The picture is of the church in its new location right off the Beltway.


At that time, the pastor was Jack Bridges and we called him Bro. Jack. On this particular Sunday evening he wasn't preaching because we were having a revival. Mom and dad were very active in the church. We were there pretty much every time the church doors were opened. Their best friends and domino partners, George and Faye Lechinger, were also church members. I can remember that during Hurricane Carla we even had a missionary family who stayed with us to weather the storm.

On this night mom was at home with the flu and dad was singing in the choir, so I was farmed out to sit with a couple named the Berry's. (I was only 8.) Judy was at home with mom. I don't remember much about the sermon, but when we started singing the invitation tears started rolling down my cheeks and I was compelled to rush down the aisle to the altar. I was a very shy child who didn't like to be the center of attention, so this was totally out of character. At that moment, the desire to know Christ as my Savior far outweighed any shyness I had. When I got to the front Bro. Jack was there to meet me. I told him that I wanted Jesus to live in my heart and we knelt at the altar to pray. The next thing you know, my dad was kneeling behind me with his hand on my back and he was crying and I know that someone was kneeling to my right (maybe my Sunday school teacher). Mom was upset that she wasn't there.

I know that as conversion stories go, this isn't glamorous, but it was profound to me. I am so blessed to have been raised in a Christian home where the seeds of faith were planted and nurtured at a young age. Certainly life wasn't perfect, but we had a foundation of faith that provided stability and purpose.

I was baptised on Valentine's Day.

I Surrender All

Rev. J. W. Van de Vender

All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give.

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all.

All to Thee my Blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

All to Jesus, I surrender.

Humbly at His feet I bow.

Worldly pleasures all forsaken,

Take me Jesus, take me now.

I surrender all, I surrender all.

All to Thee my Blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

All to Jesus, I surrender.

Make me Savior wholly Thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit,

Truly know that Thou art mine.

I surrender all, I surrender all.

All to Thee my Blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

All to Jesus, I surrender.

Lord, I give myself to Thee.

Fill me with Thy love and power;

Let Thy blessings fall on me.

I surrender all, I surrender all.

All to Thee my Blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. Matthew 19:13-14