Is Your Life Worth Something?

-
I was given some of my brother's preaching on CD for Christmas. I listened to one of his messages a couple weeks ago. It was bittersweet. Hearing his voice and knowing it is in a kind of time capsule was difficult, but the most difficult was listening to the message and actually hearing the words.

Matt told a story about a young man at Shoney's who was obviously in some sort of distress, sitting all alone at a table where he was clearly waiting for someone. The conversation between my brother and this young man eventually turned to faith, and the young man asked if it was worth leaving everything behind to follow God. My brother passionately described what was going on in his head at that very minute. He screamed, "yes!" He also used his infamous phrase, "Is a frog's butt watertight?"

I didn't leave much behind when I trusted in Christ. I did so at the age of five, and really, what kind of life can you possibly leave behind at that age?! But, I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't trusted in Christ and went through life. Where would I be? I probably would not even be a coffee loving blogger. I can speculate exactly where I would be because I still fight with myself and Satan on a daily basis to choose truth.

I was devastated when my brother chose, for a season, to walk away from the faith he held so tightly to for another season of his life, especially as a pastor. I watched the heartache and anger it caused. I prayed and fought my own heart to not become angry and bitter. I fought to not fall in line with him because he was so important to my faith journey.

Partially motivated by my brother's descent and partially by my own faith, a faith very different from Abraham's, I am choosing to walk a different path. A path that is not easy for me, but at the end of my life, however long that may be, I want to believe my life has been worth something. Not just choose to avoid the sin but to choose the extraordinary.

My brother referenced 2 Samuel 23. The passage is about a man who stood alone in the field fighting an army of Philistines. God gave him great victory that day. This man did something extraordinary.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Now?

-
Image
My brother and I cut down a tree that had potential to fall and damage the shed and barn. We cut, split, and stacked the logs but left the brush in a large pile in the yard. Because it was green wood and brush, my brother, who was very intelligent but rather carefree and fearless, doused it in gasoline. He was standing about five feet away when he lit the small cardboard match. A deafening boom was heard, and the ground shook. I looked over at my brother, and he was laying on the ground about 15 feet away with singed arm hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows. One tiny match caused an instant, blazing fire. On another occasion, I had collected brush from around the farm in an effort to clean up the apple and apricot orchards. It was dry brush; perfect for a family campfire. A little newspaper at the bottom of the twigs and larger sticks and limbs at the top made for the perfect recipe. My brother struck the match, threw it at the newspaper, and the fire began growing steadily until it w...
Read more

2021: What in the Sam Hill Does it Mean to "Engage?"

-
Image
In case you did not get the memo, I have been away for "a minute," as the folks in Utah say quite frequently. I "dipped out" of Pennsylvania on December 28th to head to Annie's House in Draper, UT. It is one of the locations for Steps Recovery Center, owned by a very kind man named Ty (and co-owner Paul) with a rad Marketing Director, Kevin (I am sure I will talk about Ty and Kevin in a later post - those guys came in once or twice a week - and patiently smiled every time I said, "free weights?"). If you go to their website, you will see that it is advertised as a Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center. It is that too. It actually helps almost anyone with almost all symptoms/self-destructive habits by treating mental health and trauma.  I mention the above to give a reason why my 2021 intention is coming a few months after January 1st but also why I have already been quite successful at working on it. So, to get this out of the way, "engage" ...
Read more

Challenge By Choice

-
Image
Photo Credit: CLAS Ropes Course and Canoe Rental, Provo, UT I’d like to think I was compared to Robbie Knievel the other day, but I guess I should admit that my therapist was actually comparing the process of EMDR to Robbie Knievel's famous  Grand Canyon jump  (start at 35:35). Her analogy: Robbie used the throttle perfectly to make his jump across the canyon successful. If he pulled back on the throttle too much, he wouldn't have made it to the other side. I have apparently, well, obviously, been throttling back in my EMDR sessions. I know holding back is going to keep me from getting across my canyon, and  I don't want to be outdone by some badass daredevil who hit 92+ mph at the top of a ramp and dropped 45 feet down while gliding 228 feet across to a rough but successful landing (he broke his leg - "a mere flesh wound"). I can be a badass like him. When I was asked in a recent processing session if I thought I could keep going with EMDR, I thoughtfully conside...
Read more