You know those testimonies that you hear that leave you with your mouth wide open? You can look at their life and be like “woah, God is so good. Look what He’s done” because the difference from death to life is so visible. Stories like these get the chill bumps rolling and get you pumped on life to go and share everything you know about God to every person you know. I freaking love these stories and so does the Christian culture. And I think we should celebrate these incredible stories of radical transformation. It shows such a clear picture of the Lord’s power and forgiveness for his children. But what happens when your testimony isn’t about sex, drugs and rock and roll?
Me. You get people with stories like mine.
I am thankful for my not dramatic story. Here’s a recap of it: Mom and Dad love each other and raised me right (in my opinion). I fell in love with Jesus at a really young age and I held tight to Him. I never really had a rebellion stage. No drugs. I hate the taste of alcohol. I enjoy the little things in life as well as the finer things in life. I don’t remember a time of not loving the Lord. Nothing brings me more joy than playing outside and if you throw in kids, a puppy or kitten, I’m done for. Best day ever.
My story isn’t one of dramatic measures but it’s a story of God’s faithfulness.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t get it though. I’m living in the same world. I’ve seen a lot of life in my short 24 years. I’ve loved on extremely high young boys in the slums, I’ve had mothers beg me to take their child to give them a better life, I’ve wrestled through hard questions with young adults as they try and figure out who they are, I’ve seen hunger, pain and addiction. But I’ve also seen what the Lord is capable of. I’ve seen people with hope when all seems lost, I’ve seen unspeakable joy, contagious laughter and love that doesn’t make sense.
Your story is your story and it was written with purpose. I still, to this day, have no idea why I had some kind of Holy Spirit protection upon my life but I am thankful for it. It doesn’t mean that sometimes I wish I could share stories with my friends but my late night stories usually end with us eating pancakes and drinking hot chocolate at IHOP. There can sometimes be this weird shame/guilt thing associated for not having a dramatic transformation story. It’s a weird feeling when all your friends talk about the time they got high, have mind blowing stories about barely escaping police and you’re just sitting there thinking I was probably with my friends climbing trees or playing a neighborhood game of basketball. But there’s no reason to feel guilty about this.
We both need Jesus every second of every day. We both have struggles. We are on equal grounds.
So here’s to the people who think they have a “boring testimony”. STOP SAYING THAT! Go out and share your story. If you want cool stories, start asking God for them. Be real and be vulnerable.
