A Story of Joy...

I've recently begun to realize how quickly I fall into the trap of living my life as if I was the only person around. I walk from class to class as quickly as possible, always eager to return home. Even spiritually, I am prone to live in the mundane, rather than the boldness and life that it means to be in Christ. So the following story is primarily to remind myself of the greatness and goodness of God. It's also to thank my parents.

Having accepted Christ at a very early age I, for the majority of my life, had never intimately experienced the radical, life changing power of the gospel. I didn't wake up in a ditch one day, with a needle in one hand and a bible in the other. I never overcame alcoholism cold turkey after discovering how much greater the love of Jesus is than any drink. And I certainly didn't go from killing Christians to seeing Christ face to face on the road to Damascus. There are real stories like these anxiously pacing around the hearts of people all over the world, eager to be told. But for most of my life, stories like these, while inspiring, were never personal. Even the great turmoil in stories like these was very foreign to me.

My freshman year of high school, however, my family went through one of the hardest times we've ever experienced--my parents separated. Growing up I remember my parents fighting, but I assumed to an extent that all parents fought and I really thought nothing of it. In reality though, their relationship had been growing farther and farther apart for many years, as their personal hurts, grudges, and insecurities grew closer and closer to their own hearts. These issues culminated one night when they sat us kids down at the dinner table and explained to us that they would no longer be living together. Although by that point we all knew my mom and dad were particularly struggling, I think that we all, myself at least, presumed they would eventually work it out. After all, that's what they had taught us to do. But in that moment at the dinner table my supposed reality crashed into a whole new and present one.

My mom found a condo within walking distance of our house, allowing us kids to still attend the same schools. My two sisters, my brother, and I would spent one week with my mom, and then the next with my dad, and so on. It was an interesting contrast in living environments, particularly on the weekends: A deaf dad who sleeps like a log at one place and a mom who would wake up to a mouse squeak at the other. And that was life. While obscure and difficult at first, I slowly began to get to used to it. And then something quite unexpected happened.

My parents had been officially separated and living apart for around nine months when, what seemed to be out of nowhere, my mom went on a date with my dad. They went to a concert. And a worship concert at that. When my mom had left my dad, like being thrown into a lake in the middle of the night, my dad was suddenly awoken to the fact that he had just lost one of the most amazing women on the planet. He spent months praying that the relationship could somehow to saved. So the date was a big deal. Still at that point, as she would tell you, my mom had no real interest in my dad. But it wasn't too long after that when the most incredible thing took place. The still small voice of a savior broke through unreasonable despairity and began to speak to my mom, lovingly and with authority urging her to go back to my dad. So she did.

I am crying now as I write. Because of the amazing love and grace and victorious strength of a Son, the Son, my family is whole. Because of the power of the holy spirit to change lives my parents are deeply in love and have even recently celebrated twenty five years of marriage. My dad's facebook profile reads "She has been the love of my life for 25 years." And what's even more amazing is how God's redemption did not stop there. Overall my parents lived apart for about nine months. Nine months taken from their relationship. But after getting back together an unplanned and joyous thing occurred. My mom became pregnant. Nine months apart and God restored it with a nine month miracle, a baby boy, my brother Luke. Luke was even born during one of the earlier Repossess nights (a citywide worship night) as me and my siblings praised our creator.

What has come out of the hardship of my parents separation is far greater than the distress ever was. Now, I have another brother and my parents are closer than ever. What's more, the changing power of Christ became real, became personal to me and all my siblings. My dad's faithfulness in praying, my mom's decision to listen to God, and their combined trust in Christ revealed but a glimpse to our family at what it means to rely on the awesome power of our God. My sister has taken full advantage of that awesome power. She has gone through some very difficult times in high school, but I am overjoyed to say that she is now an amazing example of what it means to be completely on fire for Jesus. She is a righteous woman. I wonder if she would have ever gained the confidence to turn to God in complete trust had it not been for my parents giving us such a context to the redemptive power of Christ. Thank you mom and dad for displaying to me the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.