We are created in His image. We are a soul. We have a physical body, but our soul is what makes us, us. And we are all travelling this life on different paths.
My journey began when my friend Clay began asking me to attend worship with him, when I was 16 1/2. I think God sent him to me for a reason. Of course, i will not ever know for sure. Still, he was patient with a very argumentative and stubborn girl for a long time.(wonder where my kids get that attribute?) It was because he loved me. And God was patient with me because He loved me. I am not the easiest person to convince.
But after my 18th birthday I had decided that Jesus was real. God was real. I believed He had died for my sins and was the son of God. I knew I could never get to heaven without washing my sins away and trying to live by the bible, so I got baptized that summer. I was a Christian. I was a new creation. Very new. A babe in Christ. I knew very little bible.I had a long way to go.
As happens sometimes, I was fresh and new, and clueless. I was still easily led to do things my way, as had been my 18 year habit, so within the year I fell away from doing what was right. But God gives second chances to those who come back. I came back and before long, I was married to Clay and we were setting out on a path of Christianity like I had never imagined. Our church family at our new congregation had much to do with my future growth. They lived what they read in the bible. They did not shy away from serving or from talking about it. They desired to study and to teach. These things rubbed off on me. Aligning yourself with the right people makes a HUGE difference. I was growing and evolving closer to what God wanted.
Then came a life changing experience that made me really want to be strong in the Lord. I had children. Folks, if that doesn't change you, I don't know what will. It made me want to be a better Christian, a great example, a great teacher, a person of love. After all, you only get one chance to raise them. If you fail....well, failure was not going to be my option. Not that I haven't had tons of mini failures as a parent, but hopefully with God's help, I have had more successes. I changed more because of my kids than I could have imagined. I also recall going to a scientific seminar on creation vs. evolution that really convinced me how true the bible is. Apologetics are amazing!
Lately life had been evloving differently. For about 15 years I have been parenting, but it has hit me that in 11 years they will all be grown. That is not more than a blink away. And while I have devoted myself to parenting, I have not been as devoted to being a woman or a wife. I am finding out who I am. I am getting back to the parts of me that I dropped after having kids. I'm making friends, doing things for me, doing things for fun, keeping myself looking as good a s possible for my husband, and still diligently raising kids. I realized they need to see me as an affectionate wife willing to retain that girl I used to be, the one my husband fell for so long ago. They need to see me as a person with feelings and interests and taking good care of myself, and laughing, having fun, being playful, enjoying the good stuff of life.
I am evolving. God's creation in me won't be complete until I die, but it is ok. Life for Him is a journey, with struggles, many mistakes, failures, successes, sadness, happiness. The point is to keep going. Keep learning, keep trying to reach the goal. I have nearly stopped looking back. I can't change things that happpened and the memories are sweet, but often bittersweet. So I am trying to live in the day and do my best.
Life is a journey.
Carpe' diem!
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