In the land of the living

The date 9/9 has carried a lot of weight throughout my life.  In 2001, I had just turned 15, was starting 10th grade, and chose to publicly make the stand to follow Christ by getting baptized.  I remember wading into the warm, murky waters of Lake Shawnee wearing a gloriously baggy orange t-shirt (it was 2001, after all!) and denim shorts, all while thinking, "Please don't let a jetski run over me..."  I had already committed my life and future to Jesus, but this was still a big step that I can remember vividly.  From that day forward, my life was no longer my own.   

Exactly 11 years later, in 2012, I was hit by a car while biking.  Thus began a period of weeks and months where I had never felt alternately so close and so far from Christ.  It was a season where my faith was truly tested and refined like never before.  “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”  Psalm 27:13

That Midwestern lake filled with jet skis, boaters, and swimmers seems a whole world away from Oakland at this moment.  15 year-old Laura had no idea what was in store at the time, but knew she wanted Christ walking alongside her.  He would be with her from the Midwest to the East Coast to the Far East to the West Coast.  

That Midwestern college town intersection filled with a swarm of compassionate residents, police, and EMTs also seems even further away.  26 year-old Laura had no idea that the line between life and death was so slim, and that she could almost taste and see heaven, but she knew that Christ was still beside her on earth: He held her and gave her the will to heal and to pick up the shattered pieces of her body and mind.    

It is 9/9/14 and I can see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!  This land of the living has been incredibly challenging and often like walking through a desert land, but He has gone before me and has never left me.  I rejoice that God has used my stories from past 9/9s to help bring glory and fame to His name, and will continue to do so.  I rejoice that God has used my stories from past 9/9s to remind me that He is never done growing and changing and shaping us, even if I want to say, “Okay, thanks God!  Think I’ve had enough growing and changing and shaping for a while.”  I am certainly not the same Laura I was in 2001 or 2012 or even yesterday.  

And there my 9/9 reflections come to an end until next 9/9.  I will celebrate today by working diligently, loving others well, and drinking some champagne!  Happy 9/9!