My soon to be 16 year old granddaughter, who lives within walking distance of us, has spent a lot of time at our house this summer. And we have spent quite a bit of time talking—mostly about her; her life, her friends her school, her future, her dreams. It has been a blessing for my wife and me and I think for her as well.

She is a really smart, kind, loving and a very sweet person of high moral values who gives a lot of herself, not just to us and her family, but to everyone. But I know also, that as she continues through high school and in three short years goes off who knows where to college, and all that comes after, she will encounter more and more people, situations and opportunities that will challenge and attempt to change who she is today into someone less.

She right now believes in God, though I don’t really know what she believes or thinks or how strong her young faith is. She goes to high school religious education and is preparing for confirmation. 

For me, God is a challenging subject to discuss with her or really anyone. It’s not so much that I have a problem talking about God, but I’ve found that most others don’t want to. And even if they will, it seems most of us already have God all figured out and though we will gladly tell you what we know or believe to be true, we’re not too interested in hearing what anyone else has to say. One thing for sure, our God views can vary a whole lot. Besides, at almost 16 years of age, I doubt that God is at the top of her priority list.

But I want her to hear about God—from me. Not that I’m an authority, I just think it might mean more coming from someone she knows and loves. I’m not talking about scripture or theology so much, I just want her to know, to really know, way deep down in her heart that God is really Real and that he loves her with all his heart and that he is with her right now and will never let go of her—no matter what she might do and no matter what she might think or feel. God can and will rescue her. He can and will save her. He can and will forgive her and help her to forgive.

I realize I may have only one opportunity to give her something that will hopefully stick with her. Something that will mean enough to her that she will somehow keep it tucked away in the recesses of her mind until one day when she needs it most. That one day when she is brokenhearted, sad, depressed, despondent, disillusioned, weighted down by sin or who knows what—there are so many things, especially today—I can only imagine what tomorrow’s world may be like. I want her to have an answer on that day when she feels all lost and alone and doesn’t know who to turn to or where to go. That day when I may no longer be around to help her.

I’ve thought about it for a while now, and one thing I know is that whatever I give her needs to be pretty short. Short enough to hold her attention, even if she’s not too interested. I feel, it should be something that takes no longer than two to three minutes to say or read. The experts say that that is around 500 words. One page single spaced. To give you some idea, this is word 614. It took me a little over three minutes to read this far.

Of course, the really big question is what to say. Do I give her something out of the Bible or some other book or something I’ve read online or maybe something really profound I’ve heard from someone else? Do I look to Facebook? Do I ask Siri? Do I Google it to find the perfect answer? Or do I try to come up with something else? Where do you go to come up with something to say that could change someone’s life or maybe even save it?

 For some reason, I thought back about a retreat I once attended. This retreat was composed of many things, but the one thing that stood out was the many talks people gave for us to listen to. Each talk seemed to last only about 15 or 20 minutes, but each and every talk kept me and most others there, totally engrossed. It wasn’t so much the subject, they were all different subjects, it was how you could tell the speaker, these ordinary people just like me and you, had taken a really hard look at themselves, way down deep inside, maybe into their soul if that’s possible and came out with incredibly honest examples of how God had touched them to show them who they really were and used them as examples to others. And they shared their stories and themselves with us—total strangers. And I was changed, my wife was changed. I know others who were changed. I and others remember still today many of the things we heard at that retreat, many of the things we experienced, many of the things we felt. And of course we remember those who gave so much of themselves to prepare and to give their talks.

That was 18 years ago. 

I remember it so well

I knew I had my answer as what I needed to give my granddaughter, and as I thought about it more, I thought of other people who were in need of it as well. I needed to search myself and find and understand why I believe God is really Real? Why he loves me? Why I know he is always with me? Why he will never leave me—no matter? I need to search myself, not the Bible, not any books, not the internet not things I’ve heard from others. If I am to hope she or anyone else I might give this to is going to really value and retain what is said, it needs to ring true that it comes from me and what I have experienced with God in my life. It has to come from my heart and not someone else’s. The thing I need to give her is myself.

As I was just now re-reading what I’ve written, I had the thought that others might also hear a quiet voice inside of them asking them to tell someone they know that God is really Real.

Maybe You.

Maybe you know someone who needs to know that God is really Real right now, or someone that most assuredly will one day need to know and where they can turn to. Maybe you have a family member like I have, maybe a neighbor, maybe a friend. Or maybe someone you won’t meet until tomorrow or the day after. I think we all know someone or someones who need to know that God is really Real.

Will I actually end up giving my granddaughter whatever I come up with? I hope so, though I’m not sure. For some unknown reason, the thought makes me apprehensive. If I do, will I say it to her or read it to her or just give it to her to read? I don’t know. Who knows, if I don’t give it to her maybe I’ll just have it read at my funeral. But I hope I do. What I do know for sure is that if I don’t do it and do it right now, I will probably never do it at all and she will definitely not receive it in any fashion.

I had the thought that maybe after reading and thinking about it a little, you too might want do the same for someone you know, for someone you love. I thought you might want to do something that could help them, maybe even save them in their darkest hour. So, I’m inviting you to join with me by writing your own God is really Real talk. 

I’m asking that we start today and that we set a goal of finishing in one week, two at the most. 

And I have another even bigger thing I’d like to ask. I’d like for you to send me a copy of what you’ve written to billeckert49@gmail.com and I will add yours to mine with hopefully others that were written and publish them here so we can all share the many different ways we have experienced God in our lives and why we believe God is really Real.—anonymously of course. Your name will not be included.

I know it’s a little scary. I know it will take time and won’t be easy and I’m sure it’s something you believe you will be terrible at. I know it is much easier and not as scary to just not do it at all. I’m not real crazy about doing it myself. But I also know, that you know, you should do it. If you hear or feel something right now egging you on to do it—It may well be God. And if you’ve already decided you are not going to do it, that may well be your response to God egging you on. You know someone or you will know someone who could use what you have uniquely experienced, what you have to say in only the way that you can say it—someone whose life could be changed or maybe even saved. But it won’t happen if we’re not ready, if we are not prepared when the time comes.

One last thing.

I talked about those speakers, the ones at the retreat, who by doing what they did, changed not only my life, but the lives of others I know personally. I found out later that what happened to me and the others was nothing compared to what happened to the speakers themselves. God rewarded them for facing their fears, for turning to him to see the person they really were, to get a glimpse of the person he had created them to be, to examine their lives to truly see how they had encountered Him in their lives and then to share what they had found with others. They had an encounter with God that changed them even more than the ones who heard the talks. I know, sometime later, I too was a speaker. 

That’s why it is so important not only to prepare your talk, no matter the length, but to share it and yourself with others.

billeckert49@gmail.com