Dale Hanson

And so all week long, I had nightmares about it because as a child, I can understand straight literal language, but I didn't understand metaphor and simile and comparisons and allegories.

you know i didn't realize that he's making word pictures to make it clearer to people to understand well as a boy i remember the one place that there was a bridge was between uh international falls minnesota and canada and that place and

All the gigantic lakes of northern Minnesota, Rainy Lake and all the rest of them, would pour through that gully into Lake of the Woods in the western half of the state.

And down below that bridge, it just churned and it beat against the rocks.

It was like almost a yellow as it wore the rocks away.

And in my mind, I kept thinking, this must be where it happens.

And so I wrestled with it all this week.

If I want to be a Christian,

I have to be willing to do that, not understanding, you know.

So that next week, my parents weren't there, but I sat on the edge of the pew.

And when the pastor gave the invitation, I went forward.

And I was only five years old, and the pastor thought I must have gotten away from my parents or something.

And he said, what can I do for you, son?

And I says, I'm ready to have you throw me off the bridge.

And I thought that morning when the church was dismissed, we would go over there to the Canadian border and that's when it would happen.

And all of a sudden he realized his metaphor was way over the head of a young boy.

And so he looks to his wife and he says, Mabel, this young boy would like to know how to become a Christian.

And so we went back into the back room and

I sat in a little red chair.

I just vividly remember it.