Dear friend…
February 1, 2010 | Dear Friend,Knowing Christ,Living Free
Dear Suzie,
I’ve been following your blog and your FB page. If you were to describe me I’d say I have religious leanings, but I usually fall to the other side in my day to day life.
I’m not like you. The truth is that I probably won’t fit, not in the way I dress, talk, act. But I want God.
You’ve been talking about being in the crossroads. I guess that describes me, right? So, what now?
DM
Dear friend,
I’m not like me either.
Does that confuse you? When I first came to Christ I was angry. I was living in a hard place and religion was the last thing I wanted. I didnt’ get it, all those church people dressing up on Sundays.
I remember a group of kids coming from a local church. They stood in my bedroom, trying to explain God to me. I don’t know why there were there. Maybe it was an exercise in “witnessing”. Maybe it was “pick a door” day. Or maybe they really cared.
All I know is that I didn’t listen, and I didn’t make it easy for them.
Then one day I went to church with a friend. I perched in the back, ready to fly out the back door. I didn’t know why I was there, but I felt something that day. Something bigger than me.
That day changed my life.
I love how you described yourself: leaning toward religion and falling to the other side. That’s an accurate description of me at that time, even in the first year as I grew in my faith. I wanted God. I sensed that there was something special on the other side of religion. Something that was bigger than church.
And there was.
I made huge mistakes in those first few years of my faith. Just like some of the disciples in the Bible, I was totally human, yet in love with Jesus.
I still make mistakes, but what I learned is that you don’t have to look like anyone, or talk like anyone, or be like anyone to follow Jesus.
The first step is to just follow Him. And then you discover over time that the more you get to know God (and that’s what it’s all about) the more you look like Him, you talk like Him, you’re more like your Heavenly Father.
It’s such a beautiful process.
My uncle Wayne is 72-years-old and still drives a Harley and wears leather chaps. He hangs out with other faith-filled bikers. He’s so much like Jesus.
My friend Cris talks about her past with drugs, and how God restored her family. She’s so much like Jesus.
My young 20-something friend Emily was raised in lots of religion but discovered that God had more for her when she was a teen. She’s been to Africa and loves missions. Today she works with children in Boston. She’s loud and funny and I never know what to expect from her, but she looks so much like Jesus.
That once-angry girl who was ready to bolt out of church? I don’t look like her anymore. I look like the real me. I eventually became exactly who God intended from the beginning, instead of the way life was shaping me. Does that make sense?
You are beautiful to God, and I don’t know what you’re going to sound like, look like, talk like one year or thirty years from now, but today is a perfect day to walk fully into a Father’s arms that are reaching for His girl.
He loves you like crazy. That I know for certain.
Trusting Him is the beginning of a journey to discover who He is, and through that knowledge, you find the real you.
Suzie
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Truly, all I can say is AMEN. How often we want to look like, act like, be like someone else. Jesus just wants US, first in our ratty old self and then He washes us clean and shows us how. What a beautiful and honest response.
February 1st, 2010 at 2:15 pmI like the question and I seriously love the reply!
February 1st, 2010 at 2:55 pmBeautifully transparent! Praise God!
February 1st, 2010 at 3:17 pmMatthew 12:7 “I desire compassion, not sacrifice.”
February 1st, 2010 at 4:50 pmI love looking at people through the lens of Jesus. He sees me in a way others do not, with potential, with a creative eye, with truth (that’s the hard part sometimes), as a Father, and as God. I’d love to be able to see my life as He sees it. I know that I would be challenged, but also hopefully see grace in a whole new way.
February 1st, 2010 at 5:13 pmI came over her from my Encouragement for Today daily email and kind of scrolled down to this entry. I enjoyed it and I liked the way you were able to describe something that is so very real. Thanks.
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:32 pm