A Legacy

5-19-11

I’m moved to tears. I just received a very special gift from an elderly couple in my church. Periodically my dad visits them and when my sister and I are with him we go as well. A lot of young people would be bored with visiting older people who talk about how things used to be and reminisce about earlier times in their lives, however, we find what they have to say both important and interesting. Think about it. How much have these two people seen in their lives? How long have they been trusting God? Imagine the wisdom and understanding and experience they have. Instead of an obligation it’s an honor to know and spend time with these faithful children of God. They have been faithful to God for so many years. Me, I’ve been a Christian for about 10 years. That’s just a small fraction compared to them. So, in a way, they are Christian mentors to my family. All of my great grandparents have passed away and that makes our relationship to this couple even more enriching. This couple couldn’t afford to buy something or give money for my graduation. Instead they pieced together a very thoughtful package of Christian books and sources. One thing that really touched me was my great grandparents’ funeral cards and obituaries tucked inside one of the books. My great grandparents’ were spiritual giants in my eyes. Both were leaders in our small church and it’s because of them that I was raised hearing about Jesus and his love for me. It was their gentle influence, flowing through our family, which led me to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Out of all the decisions I’ve made in my life, even the decision to heal from abuse, making Jesus the Lord of my life has been the greatest and best decision I’ve ever made. My great grandparents’ have left a legacy of following Christ and trusting God in all things great and small. Including their funeral cards and obituaries in the gift seemed to say “They left a legacy and you are continuing that legacy.” That really touched me. I’ve never really counted myself as very important, but seeing the fruit, being the fruit, of the efforts of my great grandparents changed my perspective. They impacted many generations after them and I have the same potential. Just as God worked in them God is working in me. It isn’t our individual abilities and strengths that impact the world for God, it’s our surrender to and faith in God that enables us to show the world God’s light, like a lamp on its stand, like a city on a hill.

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Faith_inpresentdarkness

This Little Light of Mine

I've decided that I want to go public with my blog, that meaning that I want my friends to know about it. I want to spread it on facebook. The very same day that I posted my last post I got a message from a friend that had read it. Her message really encouraged me and helped me see that I really can reach others through my testimony. I know that my testimony is one that people don't normally ask to be given during a retreat or Bible study night. Sexual abuse and rape are kinda taboo subjects. People feel uncomfortable when they hear about it. My aim is not to make others feel uncomfortable. I just want to share my story and not be silent and ashamed about it anymore. Not talking about it only serves to make survivors feel ashamed about their pasts. My hope is that me talking about it and sharing how I've been healing from abuse will encourage others. I want to share God through my testimony. Just posting part of my story on my last post and then reading a response from a friend has helped me heal a little bit more.

Of course sexual abuse and rape aren't going to be the only topics on this blog. This blog is still titled Simply Life by Faith. It's about my life and my life isn't defined by something bad that happened to me. I going to talk about all kinds of things in my life. So don't worry, this blog isn't going to be a constant downer. I've just been amazed and inspired to reach others with my story, both the joy and the tears of it. That being said, I do want to mention the awesome day I had today.

Some of my friends and I all went to Knoxville today. We visited this really big and really amazing used bookstore. It was the biggest book store I think I've ever been in, and the prices were really great. I walked out with 5 books in all. I can have no doubts that I chose the right two majors in college. My majors are psychology and religion. I bought two books from the Professional Psychology section and two books from the Christian Living section. My fifth book came out of a random section (can't remember the name), but it's also related to psychology because it about how to see a person's personality in his/her handwriting. I've always found that topic interesting and now I've finally found a book on it! Later we went to the movies to see Jane Eyre. I've never read the book, to the utter disbelief and horror of my roommate. I didn't expect it to be so scary. I thought it would be more chick flicky but there were several spooky scenes in this movie. Now I want to read the book because the movie was really interesting, and, yes, in a psychological way lol. I'm a psych nerd, what can I say? I've always liked to learn about people and understand them. I'm not all about analyzing people. That's uncomfortable to go through and not really reliable. Instead I like to build relationships with people and get to know them personally. I have a passion for other people and their stories.

Well, it's really late and finals start tomorrow . . . or later this morning depending on how you see it. lol.

You have been reading Simply Life by Faith :)

-Faith_inpresentdarkness

P.S. -For those of you who don't know, my real name is not Faith. I use it as a pseudo-name because my name is really unique and I try to be careful about the personally identifying information I share on the internet.