When I was about eight years old, one day the thought came to me, "Are you going to be good, or are you going to be bad?" Instantly, I mentally responded, "I'm going to be good." This took almost no consideration, as I remember thinking that there really wasn't any other way for me to be. I recall feeling a great closeness to God, a consciousness of a supreme power.
After that, church attendance became the outward expression of this chosen way, though many times I had to get rides with neighbors or go with friends. Also the Bible became very dear to me, and I read it through before finishing high school. I then determined that when I had children, they would attend church with me. Later, my children were raised according to my highest concept of Bible precepts, and we attended the church my husband had formerly been affiliated with.
When my oldest son was killed during the Vietnam War, I was a member and Sunday School teacher of a Protestant church. We received the news just before Christmas and notified family and friends. Many people had to come great distances to attend the funeral. During this waiting period I found myself collapsing in tears from time to time. I thought that if my deceased son had had any relationship problems, he now could not set them right. Turning the light of examination upon my own life, I realized that an unhappy situation with a sister-in-law was taking away my peace. I determined that if we could not be "in-laws" in the truest sense, it would be better for us to be "out-laws"—to cease having contact altogether. I wrote her to that effect, and she responded with a call. Together we talked out our differences and agreed to try getting along with each other.
