I was known in my family as "Little Miss Sunshine," and my friends called me "Goodie Two Shoes" but I knew I wasn't perfect. 

My family didn't go to church when I was young, but at age 5 I started going with my neighbor.  I learned about God, Heaven, Jesus, and that Jesus died to forgive my sins so I could go to go to heaven when I died.  I wanted to go to Heaven but I didn't understand how. 

In 6^th grade my Sunday School teacher told us that we each needed to pray and ask Jesus into our heart to go to heaven, so I did.  Choirs of angels didn't sing, a light from heaven didn't shine down on me, and I didn't feel any different, so I didn't think my prayer worked.  I kept praying over and over for Jesus to come into my heart but I thought I either needed to be perfect for Jesus to enter my life, or perhaps He came in but left when I did something wrong.

When I was almost 15 we had a Sunday School lesson on how Gideon put out a fleece to get an answer from God.  I told God I needed a sign like Gideon to show me that Jesus was in my heart, or how to get Him into my heart.  The next Sunday in Church there was a notice in the bulletin that anyone who wanted to be baptized should speak to the Pastor after service. The baptism was in 2 weeks, on my 15^th birthday! I knew this was my sign. The Pastor took me to a room where the deacons were meeting.  Everyone was confused.  No one knew who put the notice in the bulletin.  There were 6 weeks of classes before you could get baptized, and they had never announced it in the bulletin. But there it was, so they made an exception for me.

The Pastor asked why I wanted to be baptized.  I told him I had been asking Jesus into my heart over and over, but wasn't sure He was coming in or staying in.  It was as if He was knocking on the door to my heart and I was saying "come in" but he was waiting outside the door for me to clean up my life.  He had me read Revelation 3:20 where Jesus said "'Behold I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him.'"  I was shocked.  That verse described exactly what I was feeling.  Right then I prayed and told Jesus that I was opening the door of my heart and thanked Him for coming in.

Then we read Hebrews 13:5 "'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"  He told me that once Jesus was in my heart He wouldn't leave me.  If I sinned I just needed to ask forgiveness.

I'm not perfect by any means, but over time He has helped me to overcome sin, and to quickly ask forgiveness when I do something wrong.