Non-Normal Lives
Only a few more pages left to read in this book:
It's a compilation of blog entries written by Daniel Harper, a classmate who was about three years behind me at GCA. He lost his battle with brain cancer at age 25 in August 2011, after three years and multiple surgeries and treatments...and many roller coaster rides, along with his wife Logan. If you want, you can order the book at http://www.gcasda.org or visit his blog site here.
Sometime between his last few blog entries that he wrote, I went with my dad to visit Daniel. Right away, I knew it was a divine appointment. It was about two weeks before I left for "Yap Round 2," and had just sold my car and given away my cell phone. It was one of those times when I was seriously questioning my sanity--what was I doing? Was this really what God wanted? I felt like I was giving up everything for something so uncertain, and yet it still felt like the right thing to do. But it was hard. And I wondered...why can't God just let me live a "normal" life? As I listened to Daniel, weak as he was, I realized a few things: One, I'm not the only one God has called to live a "non-normal" life. And two, through God's grace, a "non-normal" life becomes a great testimony to His working in and through one's life. And three, life is such a precious gift. Whatever God has me here on this planet to do, it's simply a privilege to be alive. As Daniel said (in his blog and in person), when you are following Jesus, each day is "another day in paradise." We either wake up to God's blessings, lessons (hard though they may be), and work in our lives, or we wake up to Jesus coming back to take us out of this mess.
But on this side of "Yap Round 2," I see so much more in what he wrote. About finding contentment in the pain, finding blessings in the curses, praying with relentless faith, and facing disappointments when God's plan doesn't match our own. I realized I am tired of regretting whatever happened last year that didn't go the way I wanted it to. Instead, I want to remember the way God led us through it--and believe me, He did. The way He is still leading me through it--and somehow I know He is! I haven't read the end of my own book yet, but what I've learned from Daniel and a few others like him is hope that God uses our messy lives, our broken spirits and bodies, for His glory, if we let Him. So I'm done complaining. I'm going to let Him.
It's a compilation of blog entries written by Daniel Harper, a classmate who was about three years behind me at GCA. He lost his battle with brain cancer at age 25 in August 2011, after three years and multiple surgeries and treatments...and many roller coaster rides, along with his wife Logan. If you want, you can order the book at http://www.gcasda.org or visit his blog site here.
Sometime between his last few blog entries that he wrote, I went with my dad to visit Daniel. Right away, I knew it was a divine appointment. It was about two weeks before I left for "Yap Round 2," and had just sold my car and given away my cell phone. It was one of those times when I was seriously questioning my sanity--what was I doing? Was this really what God wanted? I felt like I was giving up everything for something so uncertain, and yet it still felt like the right thing to do. But it was hard. And I wondered...why can't God just let me live a "normal" life? As I listened to Daniel, weak as he was, I realized a few things: One, I'm not the only one God has called to live a "non-normal" life. And two, through God's grace, a "non-normal" life becomes a great testimony to His working in and through one's life. And three, life is such a precious gift. Whatever God has me here on this planet to do, it's simply a privilege to be alive. As Daniel said (in his blog and in person), when you are following Jesus, each day is "another day in paradise." We either wake up to God's blessings, lessons (hard though they may be), and work in our lives, or we wake up to Jesus coming back to take us out of this mess.
But on this side of "Yap Round 2," I see so much more in what he wrote. About finding contentment in the pain, finding blessings in the curses, praying with relentless faith, and facing disappointments when God's plan doesn't match our own. I realized I am tired of regretting whatever happened last year that didn't go the way I wanted it to. Instead, I want to remember the way God led us through it--and believe me, He did. The way He is still leading me through it--and somehow I know He is! I haven't read the end of my own book yet, but what I've learned from Daniel and a few others like him is hope that God uses our messy lives, our broken spirits and bodies, for His glory, if we let Him. So I'm done complaining. I'm going to let Him.
So glad that you are, like me, still learning the lessons of contentment. Glad to hear that you are tired of regretting the bad but remembering how God has led you through it is where you want to focus.
ReplyDeleteDaniel certainly lived a full on life and we can learn much from his struggles and pain.
Great book!
Amen!
ReplyDelete"I am done complaining. I'm going to let Him." I like that part. Let's live in contentment that He is in control. I can't wait to order my copy.
That's beautiful, Andrea. I think "normalcy" is the hardest thing to give up -- our expectations of what life "should" be like, what we think we're entitled to.
ReplyDeleteYou're a good teacher of this lesson! I'm glad for you in my life, giving me some extra courage to be non-normal too!