Laying claim to over seventy trips around the sun, I have a few stories about “when I was little.” One of those stories recounts the time I told my mom I wanted Jesus in my heart. We prayed, I asked Jesus in my heart. The intervening years have been a growing awareness of the presence of Trinity within. I grew up as a church girl; active in church, attending church camps and church clubs along with the requisite Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday age appropriate gatherings including Youth meetings in Junior High and High School.
I went to Bible College, engaged in campus activities including Revivaltime Choir, music group that sang every week on the Revivaltime Radio broadcast and did traveling tours during semester breaks and in the summer. After five semesters when I studied music, Bible and Theology and Christian Education, I ceased my formal education when I married my preacher boy. (Now I ask you, where does a nice young lady who feels called to ministry find a better hand in glove entry into ministry?)
My husband graduated from Central Bible College, Springfield, MO with a Biblical Studies degree in 1970. At 22 and 20 years of age, Ken and I headed out into ministry, Music and Youth Pastor of Arlington Assembly of God, Arlington, VA. (Some folks mistook me as a student member of the Youth Choir.) We served as staff pastor, interim pastor, church planter, Senior pastor. Also serving in administrative positions in our oversight church organization—Church Planting director, assistant to the District Superintendent, Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the district, District Superintendent of Potomac Ministry Network. And a plethora of functional committees for the smooth operation of our church organization.
Somehow in the profusion of activities that was our life, we managed to birth five Burtram progeny in ten years, a daughter and four sons, which have multiplied to five children with five spouses, 17 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and 2 foster sons and one “adoptive” grandchild. A multitude of stories, many tears and sorrows, at times excruciating stretching and inch by inch contention toward maturity, hard fought surrender to King Jesus took place in those fifty-six years of ministry.
A Christ follower for so long a duration of time, lends some credence. I tried to figure how many sermons, bible classes, group sessions I had participated since my decision to follow Jesus. I think 8000 is probably pretty close. That’s a lot of holy processing in these years since I was three years old. Perhaps under so much tutelage and the molding of life experiences, I could probably be trusted with some accurate perceptions of living life with Jesus. I have a reasonable chance of coming to an accurate evaluation of what the scripture, practiced prayer and spiritual disciplines and engaging the fellowship have to teach us about Christian Spirituality.
