He changed everything.

Hi Everyone!  We are in the process of filling out applications for different grants for the adoption and we could really use your prayers!  Please pray for endurance for us as we fill out the many, many forms that go along with these! God is continuing to financially provide for this in amazing ways and we are so thankful...there will be more to come on that soon!

On another note...I had a few thoughts I felt like sharing so if you feel like reading :-) 

I have been reading "The Story" over the summer while I was out of Bible study.  It is a book that came out in the last couple of years that is described in the title as being "The Bible as one continuing story of God and His people."  Basically, it is the Bible written as somewhat of a novel.  I got to the part of the book where the story changes from the Old Testament to the New Testament and the author wrote a brief introduction to the New Testament where he said,

"But God's story wasn't finished.  "When the set time had fully come," as the apostle Paul put it, God spoke again - this time in the person of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, whose birth, life, death and resurrection changed everything." 

This statement has come to my mind so often in the last week that I find myself reflecting on the ways that Jesus Christ changed everything in my life.  When I really sit back and think of all the ways he has changed me, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the grace and forgiveness he has freely extended to me. 

I will start somewhere in the middle of my story...  I did not know the Lord growing up.  I had heard of God and I had even been to church when I was young but during the years where I really feel like a person "grows up" I did not attend church regularly.  This was very evident in my life as a middle schooler, high schooler and even young college student.  Somewhere during the first year after college, I began to question what life was really all about and thankfully I turned to the God I had learned about all those years ago.  I would have said that I believed in God all throughout my life but I did not come to really know and love the Lord until my early twenties.  I met Adam when I was twenty-four and God used him and his family to show me what being a follower of Christ really looked like.  I have met many dear friends over the last seven years that have really showed me what putting flesh and bones to the gospel really looks like and I am so thankful to God for making my path meet theirs. 

I believe that when you accept Jesus as your savior and have a relationship with the God of the universe, there is evidence of that in your life.  The first confirmation of this in my life, that I remember, was at my ten year high school reunion.  A friend of mine from high school, someone I hung out with after many Friday night football games, laughingly made the comment that if our class were to vote on "The Person Most Changed Since High school," that would definitely be Lynsey.  I am not sure if he meant this to be funny, but I took it as a compliment.  It was the first time I had seen a lot of my friends from high school in many years, even ones I was very close to and I am sure it was shocking to them to see me completely different.  Jesus changed everything.

When I graduated from college, I got a job working at an accounting firm in downtown Roanoke.  One morning I remember very clearly walking from my car in the parking garage to the large building where my office was located and I remember thinking to myself, "I finally did it!"  Since middle school, my dream was to go to college, graduate, make enough money to fully support myself, work downtown, and wear a suit everyday.  I know that sounds very funny to a lot of people but that really was what I wanted out of life.  I really wanted to be materially wealthy and very good at what I did.  Jesus changed everything.

When I was younger, I was very selfish....I was very, very interested in what made me happy.  I had decided very early on that I did not want children.  That will come as a huge surprise to some people and not so much of a surprise to those of you who knew me back then.  I was very into whatever made me happy and I really could not see why someone would want to spend their life having children.  I wanted to spend my life on me.  Jesus changed everything. 

Somewhere along the way, Jesus completely changed my life.  I know how crazy that sounds to all of you who are reading this and are not Christians but, really, he did.  Over the last eight years I have studied the Bible and developed a relationship with God and he has changed my desires.  Over time, I started to understand who God was and what this life was really about and I know this will come as a shock to some of you but it was not about me!  ha ha!  I spent years of my life obtaining an education and working very hard to get the career that I wanted and then, just when I was getting exactly what I wanted, I quit work to stay at home with my kids.  Children?  I thought you didn't want any children?  I know!  He changed that too!  Sometimes I look at my life and I think, what happened?  Everything that you once held to be of such importance is gone.  I know even friends and family members who knew the "old me" look at me now and really think I have lost it.  I can see it in their eyes when I say something completely against our current culture and they think "she has lost it!"  And I am so very happy to say, I have.  Or atleast I am on my way to losing it.  You see, Jesus said,

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."  Matthew 16:25

I read something the other day in "7, An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess," that just about wraps up my thoughts...

"The average human gets around twenty-five thousand days on this earth, and most of us in the United States of America will get a few more.  That's it.  This life is a breath.  Heaven is coming fast, and we live in that thin space where faith and obedience have relevance.  We have this one life to offer; there is no second chance, no plan B for the good news.  We get one shot at living to expand the kingdom, fighting for justice.  We'll stand before Jesus once, and none of our luxuries will accompany us.  We'll have one moment to say, "This is how I lived."  More than thirteen thousand of those days are over for me.  I'm determined to make the rest count." 

I feel like I wasted so many years doing what I wanted and I am going to attempt to "make the rest count."  I know a lot of people would say that you only have this one life to live so why not live it having fun and doing exactly what you want to do?  The funny thing is, I don't feel like I am doing things I don't want to do...God just changed my desires to match his.  He has changed my heart so that what makes me happy is doing what makes him happy!  And I am having way more fun now than I ever have in my life.  I spend my days playing with the two most amazing kids (I know I am biased!) and I have the priveledge of getting on a plane to go get another one to love on!  Who would have ever thought I would be a stay at home mom with three kids and married to one of the most amazing people I have ever met?  Certainly not me...but Jesus changed everything.

Lynsey