Why We Know Lauren Is Safe

Fathers day 2017 started with a small sense of apprehension. Lauren had been mandated by the courts to attend a family group session on Sunday mornings. Because I am a pastor, I was not able to attend these groups, I had been to others, so she always went with her mom, it would have been nice to start Fathers day together.

These family groups are helpful. In a note Lauren once wrote me, she said, “In the beginning I hated the fact that you and mom would go to groups with me. I was embarrassed. Now I am glad because I have seen so many people that have no one.”

I went into LaLa’s room to let her know it was time to get ready. She replied by saying, “No Dad, I want to go to church today.” I said, with great joy in my heart, “Ok honey, well get ready for church then.”

That morning I was preaching the same message being shared at all of our campuses. As I did I had a sense of how valuable this particular message was for everyone in our family as we were trying to help Lauren overcome her addiction and mental health struggles. It related to Lauren, Evan, Nereida and myself in ways that I had not seen while preparing for the message during the week.

I watched Lauren during that service. She seemed very engaged. Often when she did visit church I could tell she was distracted, not this Sunday, I could see she was getting something from the message. We all were!

As the message was coming to an end I felt, not because of how this related to our family, I should give people a chance to respond to what was being said by giving there lives to Christ. This is something we do in our tradition (many denominations do this in many different forms) that allows folks to respond to what God offers through the Christ, salvation. In simple terms it means: First we “Admit” that we have sinned, we all have, its not possible for a human to not sin. Second, we “Believe” that God the Father sent Jesus to pay the debt of our sin. That’s what Easter is all about. Third, we “Confess” Him as Lord and Savior. That is what the verse in Romans 10:9 leads us to do “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” When we do that we are forgiven and in relationship with God, instantly.

As I did that of course I thought of where my daughter was in her relationship with God. How could  I not. So, I watched her as I made this offer to people in our congregation.

It is not uncommon to sometimes ask folks in our church to raise their hand in response to what I explained above. It is just an outward sign of what they have done in their hearts and minds so I can pray with them. Lauren sat quietly with head bowed, but she did not move. Naturally as her dad my heart sank a little because I knew all my little girl was facing and wondered was she ok with God?

As I brought that segment of the service to an end I once again looked at Lauren. She lifted her head, looked at me, and raised her hand. As she did tears streamed down my face. Knowing Lauren, and knowing that she understood what that meant, I knew she was sincere. She would never fake it, that wasn’t who she was.

That simple act, in our church terms, was LaLa recommitting her life to Christ for reasons, that honestly, are between her and God. In the few weeks that followed there were many changes in Laurens attitude and actions. After her memorial service a few of her friends mentioned how she was very different about her recovery this time. One friend told me that Lauren shared with her what she had done that morning.

Of course we hoped this was the start of a new path for Lauren that would finally bring her to full recovery. We never expected that she would pass away, but we do have great assurance that she is with the Lord because of what she did on Fathers Day. It helps a lot!

IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT WHAT LAUREN DID ON FATHERS DAY THIS IS A COOL VIDEO TO WATCH and A PRINTED EXPLANATION