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The Northeast Ohio community has a tradition. Every year, on the last day of class, all of the youth who have reached the age of maturity that year are presented to the community. I had not yet declared my faith in Bah�'u'll�h, and was watching the proceedings rather glumly from the back of the room. My friend Kyle (dear soul that he is) asked me, "So how come you're not up there?" "Because I'm not technically a Bah�'�." He pondered this for a moment, then told me, "Well, maybe when you become a Bah�'�, you'll get to be up there." "Hmm," I responded, and continued watching. I remember very clearly to this day that he said when you become a Bah�'�, not if. I thank God (and Kyle) for this fact, because it saved my life.
That summer, I was coming under great pressure from my Christian friends to be baptized. It was an enormous cause of torment to me. In part, I wanted so desperately to embrace the Cause of Bah�'u'll�h, but I was struggling with a particular change in my lifestyle I would have to make. (If you truly want to know more about this, please email me. I just don't feel comfortable posting this part of my spiritual journey publicly on the internet.) On the other hand, the Christians were offering comfort and community, things I had wanted for so long. But some small part of my mind remembered Kyle's words, and I convinced myself that there was no way I could become a Christian until I had seen him, and could explain myself and say goodbye. Since classes would not resume until October, I had the entire summer to put off any kind of decision. The timing appeared to be perfect, as I was leaving for a 3-week trip to Ireland/the UK with the Girl Scouts of Lake Erie Council that July. I vowed that I would give myself a well-deserved rest from my life, and that I would not think about religion at all for the duration of the trip.
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