In November, I had the privilege of sharing my testimony at church. I thought, as I reflect on everything God has done for me in 2012, that I’d share it with you here over the next few days. Happy New Year, friends.
You’re 23. Your best friends are married, and you were in each wedding. Without a date. And you’re alone in your tiny apartment, scraping by on your non-profit salary. Is this how your life is supposed to be? And the day that you get not one, not two, but FIVE wedding picture Christmas cards in the mail? You throw them on the floor of your kitchen and shout at the ceiling, “WHAT are you doing to me, God?” Why is everyone else getting what they want? Those shiny photos start to become your god, creeping into the center of your life where the one true God should be. You want to be in those pictures – sometimes more than you want God.
So you start to date a man, to make your life look like everyone else’s. You can make this work. It doesn’t matter how many signs God sends you that you’re headed down the wrong road. It doesn’t matter how many people try to speak wisdom into your life. You can make this work.
You don’t even really like him – not the way you thought you would. But you date him much longer than you should, in case this is your only shot at the life you think you want.
But it’s not. There’s more. You break up with him, and attend more weddings alone. You’re still a virgin, still wondering what God has in store for you.
Jesus moves more and more into the center. You see how He’s weaving your life into His bigger story. You see how the more you put Him first, the more He leads you forward into a bigger life than you had planned for yourself.