Sunday, May 1, 2011

Choosing Who You Will Serve...

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose this day whom you will serve,...But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."  Joshua 24:15

Is there anyone that would say out loud that serving the Lord is undesirable?  I mean, someone who actually believes in God?  Most people would say..."I choose to serve the Lord."  But would their actions prove otherwise?  Until I was 25, I spent most of my teenage and young adult life serving myself....

Allow me to start from the beginning...I grew up with two loving parents and a great older sister.  My parents did everything they could to raise us according to Proverbs 22:6.  We attended a great church.  Actually, my parents and my sister and her sweet family still attend that very church.   I accepted Jesus at an early age, say 8 or 9, because I can't exactly remember.  To be honest, I'm not sure I actually knew what it meant to accept Christ as my Savior.

Fast forward to high school and college...I had the "all-American" experience.  I had good friends, great grades, graduated in the top percentage of my high-school class, attended Clemson University, joined a sorority and made even more friends....I had a LOT of fun!  And I continued to have fun until my early adult years.  I graduated from Clemson, started my Master's program at Clemson, and got a job at Clemson.  I was loving life!  I was 22, living on my own, and living the dream...or what I thought was the dream of a young adult.  I considered myself a "good" girl because I wasn't doing anything that everyone else my age wasn't doing.   It wasn't until I was 25 that something in me started to change.  I started dating a guy that was my ultimate high-school crush.  He was also the ultimate bad boy in high school, so I was also a little scared of getting to know him really well because I just didn't do the things that his crowd did.  I followed the rules...at least the rules that all my close friends were following.  But anyway, high school was over and I was an adult.  We were about 6 months into our relationship when I realized that something was missing...from my life, from our relationship...but I was in L-O-V-E so I ignored it for awhile.  In my lost state, I started praying for an answer...for a lightening bolt.  And on May 26, 2006, the lightening bolt hit and I have NEVER been the same.  I will spare you the details of what happened, but know this...God answered my prayer.  Not in a fashion that I prayed nor ever imagined, but nonetheless, my life is all the better for it. 

In the process, I have lost some friends because I am not the same person.  I realized that I was chasing the things of this world and I wanted to change that.  On May 26, 2006, I was transformed by a renewing of the mind.  I had a Romans 12:2 experience.

I am not the same person I was because I have chosen to follow the path that God has for my life.  I choose to serve the Lord....everyday.  Sure, I mess up...A LOT.  Some days I veer from the path and find myself on rocky terrain, but since the Lord is my compass, He always shows me the way back. 

The lighting bolt of 2006 sparked a love of the Lord in me and my ultimate high school crush (who, by the way, also happens to be my husband) that changed the course of our lives.  My husband accepted Christ as His Savior in the summer of 2006 and was baptized in October 2006.  I re-dedicated my life to Christ and was baptized in October 2007.  And the Lord continues to grow us each and every day.  Through everything that has happened, God has shown us the meaning of Romans 8:28; "And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  Not everything has been good....some stuff has actually been pretty ugly...but God has worked it for good.  He is good!  Praise Him! 

So, as we entered into a season where we will welcome our baby girl into our lives, we choose to serve the Lord.  We choose to train her up in the ways of the Lord.  We choose to continue to direct Victor, my 8 year old step-son, in the ways of the Lord.  And we make these choices everyday...

2 comments:

  1. Jessica, thank you for sharing! We have similar testimonies. I'm excited for you to experience childbirth and motherhood... it is the most amazing thing in the WORLD!

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  2. You ARE ALREADY AN AWESOME MOM! Love this! Keep it up!

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