***this was written back in March on my previous blog, but I wanted to share it here as well.
Recently, JT and I were invited to a Young Life Dinner here in Augusta and it was such a great time. we made a few new friends and enjoyed the night. The message presented that evening by the local director struck a chord with me and harmonized with some thoughts that had been on my heart.
In Luke 15, Jesus shares a parable of the "Prodigal Son". Most all bible readers, frequent and casual, know this beautiful story of a Father who welcomes his son home after much rebellion and wandering, and how well it parallels with our relationship with our Heavenly Father. (Wasn't Jesus just the best at finding ways to relate to Christians, then and now?)
In verses 14-16, it says
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
A part of the scripture that always sticks out to me is how this young man wanted so badly to eat this slop that these pigs were living on. Gross! So many times in our lives, we see something that seems so appealing, but was never meant for us. He gave up everything he had ever known to go to a foreign country and live it up, and ended up caring for pigs. He turned his back on his family and went so far away, he thought he had to live as a servant to another master.
In this life, sometimes we fill our days with a ton of stuff that we've made so important, but all the while, our Heavenly Father is standing there saying "No! Don't you see? I have something so much better for you. I can give you a life that's so much more abundant!" So many times we are so afraid to release areas of our lives to Him, the one who created us; Areas like relationships, decisions about our direction of studies in college, decisions about our careers, worries about the future, finances. The list goes on for miles! There have been times in my young life that I've watched people I care deeply for and see so much potential in, struggling away to make things happen, only to have them fall apart in their hands. When you're watching from the outside you wanna take their hand and say, "Let Go! Fall backwards off this cliff of certainty and mediocrity and fall into the beautiful, incomparable life the Lord has for you!"
After my sophomore year in college at Lee University, I was home for the summer. Lee was the place I had dreamed of being since I knew college existed. It was everything I'd ever wanted as a middle schooler and high schooler, and while there, I felt like I was living a dream come true. While at home in Mississippi, I was working feverishly to get back to Tennessee as soon as possible. (Don't all college students do that?) Right in the middle of the summer, I was involved in an awful car wreck. I woke later that week with a head trauma and a pelvis broken in 4 places! Boy, did my plans take a sharp u-turn and fast! While I know that it was the Lord's will for me to go to Lee at the pivotal age of 18, I knew that this accident was an opportunity to take a step back and think about what the Lord would have for my future. Stepping back and thinking was an easy task, since I was unable to walk for a month. I decided to do something that I had been wanting to do for awhile: enroll in cosmetology school. It was so hard to say goodbye to Cleveland, TN, but I had not felt such peace about a decision since going to Lee. I wouldn't take anything for that year. I got to spend time reconnecting with my family and now I have a career that I look forward to everyday. It provides the flexibility I want so badly so that I can be involved in JT's ministry, and I meet so many people in the salon that I end up being close friends with. I'm so glad that the Lord used a scary situation, like a car wreck, to tug at my heart and change my direction. An old song I love says, "tis so sweet to trust in Jesus," and it truly is a sweet, sweet feeling.
Another part of this amazing story that I'm absolutely crazy for is when this lost son returns home.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
The daddy in this story doesn't care about anything that has happened up to that point. All he cares about is that his baby is home. Can't you just feel the warmth of that hug?
But immediately, the son starts giving his father reasons of why he doesn't add up, why he doesn't deserve to be considered a son. How many times, in our walk with the Lord, do we stay distant from him, for something that he is more than ready to forget about? There are times in worship, or throughout the day-to-day routine, that I don't pursue Him. I stand there, during service, with an absent mind, because of some way that I've fallen short, and all He wants is to throw his arms around me. He's saying, "Brittany, I don't care about that right now! Just be here with me." What a wonderful Father he is! And what incredible lessons of forgiveness he teaches us constantly.
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