Back in October as I perused a local books ale I stumbled upon this little treasure. Matter of fact I stumbled upon two different family history journals. Journals excite me, (it’s got to be the writer in me don’t you think?)they are right up there with comfy, fuzzy PJs! But these two were so special! Special because it chronicles our family history….this one in particular weighs on the faith journey side of things!
I was once told that God has given everyone a story to tell. One that will help others! My story will help my children, and hopefully my grandchildren. AND if God so chooses many others. I want to leave a legacy that is so full of grace that it is unmistakable that Christ is the true center of everything I do.
Each month there are 10 entries or so, so it doesn’t matter if you skip days…..or a week! This morning’ s entry got me thinking about a blog post today and I know it has been super quiet over the last two weeks here (more on that later) but I think today we shall get back into the swing of things!
So the question that spurred this post “When did you become a Christian, and how did your life change afterwards?”
The Answer:
I was saved around the age of four. And my life didn’t really change a whole lot…that is until just before I turned 16. February of 1996 to be exact! That’s right 18 years ago. But it’s easier to start at the beginning three years earlier. Most people don’t realize that there are two people in our home with developemental disabilities…matter of fact I didn’t know until a few months ago. In doing research for a seminar hubby and I were doing on Developmental Disabilities and the Church, we discovered that both blindness and deafness count as developmental disabilities if the person gets either before the age of 18. I was 13 when my diagnosis of Macular Degeneration was given to me. But for nearly 3 years it didn’t affect me. I had eye surgery at 14 and did well for a couple of years. But then February of ’96 happened and my world was turned upside down.
At 13 your future entails just making it through the next day of school with making a complete fool of yourself, however at 16 your future involves so much more…like a driver’s license, boyfriend/husband, kids, college, job……and so much more. All of a sudden what bombards you is what you can no longer do, or wil never be able to do. And when you focus on those things life becomes very bleak, lacking in hope, joy, and utterly miserable. There is so much more that played into it too…..rejection, teasing, excessive attention and SOOOOOO much more. But through the hopelessness that seemed to embed every crevice of my heart, God began to work. There was no aha moment….it was a very slow arduous process out of the darkness. God changed me in amazing ways. That fall I sat quietly in my pew in an evening service watching a video presented by a missionary at our churche’s missions conference. The lostness of this people broke my heart and I uttered a secret prayer to a life long commitment of service to God…..a few short months later in December I was baptized!
It was through the amazing testimony of the Apostle Paul, that I found strength to fight the good fight and to run this race of life not looking at the limitations I have but to look at the blessings they led to!
Because I was visually impaired I qualifies for SSI…I used that money my last year of high school to pay for Christian school.
Through Christian school I met a missionary to a country in the 10-40 window and went (ALONE) on my first missions trip. ( I was with a group but no family or close friends). And also from the Christian school I was rewarded a scholarship to the college I chose to attend.
Becacase of my visual impairment most of my college was paid for. In which I went on 3 or 4 more missions trips to NYC, GREW IN MY FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHO GOD IS AND WHAT HE WANTS FROM ME, served on two leadership teams for two different conferences, met my husband, became a pastor’s wife and now helping churches and families learn to cope with these difficulties…..
These things are far greater than the things I can’t do…..
1. I can’t drive a car (at least on roads :))
2. I can’t see if I have swept all the dirt and crumbs off the floor
3. I can’t spot a runny nose from across the room.
4. I can’t see a lot of smaller details far away (like cows in an upper field) but I can see the bigger picture!
Those my friends are the only four things I can’t do…..and do those things make my life horrible? Not a chance.
The neat thing about Salvation and becoming a Christian is that yes you do change, for some it is huge and drastic at the beginning, but for everyone it should be an ongoing process. You go through amazing transformations each and every day at times that is only explained by a powerful God at work in our lives! That is the point of becoming a Christian…it is to become more and more like Christ. You should never be satisfied with where you are in your walk with God. You should always want to get dapper and more like Christ.
And that my friends is the legacy I want to leave for my children!
What legacy do you want to leave behind?
