If there was anything good about being visually impaired for so long was that I was forced to be more in tuned with people's words, their actions and their heart rather than their physical appearance. I look back at that time in my life and see it as a blessing because of all the incredible relationships I was able to make only because God chose to show me their heart rather than their face. God has blessed me by restoring my vision and I pray everyday that as I rock on in this life with my new vision, I can remember to be wise with His precious gift and never use it to obsess over my or anyone else’s physical appearance.
The truth is, no matter how hard we try, we all struggle with physical appearances to some degree. We live in a broken, superficial world where we are continuously bombarded with “pop” culture television shows, advertisements, books and magazines that program our society to put far too much emphasis on outside “physical” beauty rather than our inside “spiritual” beauty. The Bible tells us that God will never judge man based on their outward appearance and neither should we. You see, when God looks at us, He sees straight past our height (or lack of it in my case), past our weight, past all of our physical traits, no matter how appalling or fine we think they are and He looks deep into our heart seeing our spiritual inner beauty.
If physical attractiveness was so important to God, then the Bible would have been written more like a dramatic novel where the main character, Jesus Christ, would have been described as a dashing, tall, dark and handsome hunk. That, however, was not the case. The book of Isaiah describes Jesus saying:
… He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2
Think about it. Jesus Christ, Our Creator’s very own son, certainly could have been created to have the most “super buff” body ever seen by mankind. He instead was created with an average "JOE"sph, everyday body and yet He was totally able to overcome the world, changing it forever.
As women, we seem to be naturally wired with the need to feel that we are beautiful both inside and out. I know many of us struggle with this daily asking that famous question: mirror, mirror on the wall, am I beautiful... just a little bit, just a little bit at all?
If you ever find yourself asking that question and well, if mirrors could talk back, I would hope its reply to you would go something like this… My precious friend, take a moment to think of some of the most beautiful things you have ever seen with your own two eyes such as a brilliant sunset, a beautiful flower and a most extraordinary butterfly. Think of all the care God took planning every tiny unique detail to make all of those beautiful creations and then know that He values YOU above all of those marvelous things. My friend, if you think a sunset or a flower looks amazingly beautiful; can you even begin to fathom how beautiful you are to God? So YES! You, my dear, are extravagantly beautiful!
It’s okay to want to look your best and it is certainly okay to appreciate the physical beauty of humans and nature as such beauty reveals to us God’s glorious creative ability. We just need to keep appearance in perspective and not allow it to become our obsession taking our focus off of the Lord. It is important to remember that just as the most brilliant sun “sets” and the darkness of night falls and just as the most beautiful flower comes to full bloom then falls to the ground, our physical beauty is at best temporary and only of this world, whereas, it is our “spiritual” beauty that has an everlasting and eternal dimension.
The look on my doctor’s faces are priceless when they see my road map of scars from my numerous abdominal and leg surgeries. One doctor recently told me, “You know Donna there are cosmetic procedures that can fix all that.” I thought about it for about half a second and told him thanks, but no thanks. You see, each one of these scars on my body represent a lesson learned or a blessing of healing that God wanted me to have…it may have blemished my temporary beauty but in some small way it enhanced my eternal beauty… I wouldn’t erase those scars or blessings for anything in this world.
It is unfortunate that society encourages many people to feel the need to spend some big money on some pretty “extreme” makeovers and painful procedures all for a temporary change to our temporary bodies. The good news is that it is far less painful for every single one of us to make an everlasting change to our “eternal” bodies (souls) and we don’t have to take out a loan or deplete our life savings to do so. You see my dear friends, the most expensive “makeover” available to all of mankind has already been paid for in full with the blood of Jesus Christ. All you have to do in order to accept this spiritual makeover is to invite Him into your heart, ask for His forgiveness, love Him and live for Him. Once you do that you can proudly say: mirror, mirror on the wall, I really don’t care what you think at all. For I have Jesus in my heart and he tells me I am God’s most precious art.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Celebrating My Lagniappe Life
Sunday April 5, 2009 will go down as one of the most memorable days of my life because in the presence of my family, friends and church, and with my dear, sweet Uncle Nelson at my side, I professed my faith and was dunked in the name of Jesus Christ!
Jesus has been doing some amazing things in my life both physically and spiritually. Last weekend was all about celebrating God’s amazing grace and incredible love with my wonderful family and dearest of friends. We all started the day attending Sunday morning worship service together where I was baptized and then spent a great day together in fellowship and feasting on a yummy cochon de lait cooked by my wonderful dad. Of course, being in south Louisiana, everyone brought a side dish or desert and we had a huge Cajun feast fit for Kings.
Many people have asked me why I would choose to be baptized again given the fact that I was baptized when I was a baby. I decided to write this blog to share the story behind my decision:
Last year, I was living what I would describe as an average Christian life and although I had been searching for a new church to get involved in, I honestly don’t think I was seeking a deeper relationship with God. God, on the other hand, was definitely seeking a deeper relationship with me. After years of living with a severe visual impairment and after being told I would need another kidney and pancreas transplant, God stepped in and not only rejuvenated my failing organs but also restored my lost vision opening my eyes to see more clearly both physically and spiritually. He allowed me to see that through my illness, I was able to experience His amazing grace, love and goodness. He also used a disaster like Hurricane Gustav to allow me to meet some of the most wonderful people that would teach me, mentor me in my spiritual walk and get me into a church that I can now call home. A place where I can learn, serve, connect, grow and for the first time in my life, learn what true salvation means. Finding my salvation not only changed my life but also changed my eternity.
In my life, I have had more than my share of unfavorable medical prognosis and from all standpoints, there is no physical explanation of why I am still here on this earth. It is only because God has chosen to keep me here and I know one day He will reveal to me the reason why he has done so. Here in south Louisiana, there is a French term we often use called lagniappe meaning an unexpected gift. This extra time that God has given me to stay on this earth allowing me to build a deeper relationship with Him and to finally understand and accept His free gift of salvation is truly a blessing and undeniably my “lagniappe”. God is the only reason that I have this lagniappe time. He chose for me to stay here and so this life I have now is no longer my own. This lagniappe life I’m living now belongs to Him and He can use it for His will.
After making the decision to live my lagniappe life for Jesus, I felt the next step I needed to take was to profess my decision and my faith publicly. This is done through baptism. 37 years ago, two of the most loving parents and two of the most loving Godparents stood before their church and my family and professed my faith for me as I was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although I have the highest respect for them for doing that on my behalf, I feel that salvation is a personal decision between me and God, and the only way to enter God's kingdom is if I accept it for myself.
What is important to understand here is that after studying God’s Truth, my entire belief system about baptism has changed. I believe that salvation is a prerequisite to being baptized NOT the other way around as I previously thought. My baptism is a symbol of my salvation and a symbol only. Just as a wedding ring symbolizes marriage, a baptism symbolizes salvation. Being baptized does not make me saved any more than wearing a wedding ring would make me married. Being baptized by no means guarantees me a free ticket to heaven. If I had not first accepted God’s free gift of salvation, Pastor Kirk could have dunked me a thousand times and the only thing guaranteed is that I would be soaking wet, extremely exhausted and left gasping for air. Salvation is God’s free gift available to all of us. What I have learned is there is absolutely no amount of great works anyone can possibly do to deserve or earn it. All we have to do is just be willing to accept it. I just keep asking myself why it took me so long to figure that out.
Being baptized during this Easter season was particularly special because water baptism symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus Christ died for you and He died for me. All of our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus and it was only through His death that all of our sins could be buried. When Pastor Kirk completely submerged me in the water and baptized me in the name of Jesus, all of those incorrect beliefs I had, all of my wrong ways of thinking, and all of my sins were submerged in the water with me. As I rose up out of the water, I was overcome with an amazing feeling of freshness and cleanness knowing that everything wrong in my past life was left submerged and buried in that water - FOREVER. I rose up as a new creation in Christ ready for my new life where I will follow the ways of the Lord as he guides me and teaches me. You see, now I know the TRUTH. Once I accepted God’s free gift of salvation I can no longer fear death. For no matter what prognosis I get and no matter what the outcome, I have a new found immortality. I will have eternal life through Jesus Christ.
So, whoever reads this.... Please read my words carefully. JESUS loves YOU. He loves you more than anyone of this world could possibly love you. More than the most loving parent on earth would love their sweetest child. Believe in Jesus so you can be saved and have eternal life. It’s as easy as ABC - Admit that you are a sinner and repent, Believe that Jesus is God’s son and He paid the penalty for our sins and Confess your faith. Invite Him in your life and receive all the love and blessings He desperately wants to pour upon you. Once all of that is done, please be sure to invite me to be a witness at YOUR water baptism.
Jesus has been doing some amazing things in my life both physically and spiritually. Last weekend was all about celebrating God’s amazing grace and incredible love with my wonderful family and dearest of friends. We all started the day attending Sunday morning worship service together where I was baptized and then spent a great day together in fellowship and feasting on a yummy cochon de lait cooked by my wonderful dad. Of course, being in south Louisiana, everyone brought a side dish or desert and we had a huge Cajun feast fit for Kings.
Many people have asked me why I would choose to be baptized again given the fact that I was baptized when I was a baby. I decided to write this blog to share the story behind my decision:
Last year, I was living what I would describe as an average Christian life and although I had been searching for a new church to get involved in, I honestly don’t think I was seeking a deeper relationship with God. God, on the other hand, was definitely seeking a deeper relationship with me. After years of living with a severe visual impairment and after being told I would need another kidney and pancreas transplant, God stepped in and not only rejuvenated my failing organs but also restored my lost vision opening my eyes to see more clearly both physically and spiritually. He allowed me to see that through my illness, I was able to experience His amazing grace, love and goodness. He also used a disaster like Hurricane Gustav to allow me to meet some of the most wonderful people that would teach me, mentor me in my spiritual walk and get me into a church that I can now call home. A place where I can learn, serve, connect, grow and for the first time in my life, learn what true salvation means. Finding my salvation not only changed my life but also changed my eternity.
In my life, I have had more than my share of unfavorable medical prognosis and from all standpoints, there is no physical explanation of why I am still here on this earth. It is only because God has chosen to keep me here and I know one day He will reveal to me the reason why he has done so. Here in south Louisiana, there is a French term we often use called lagniappe meaning an unexpected gift. This extra time that God has given me to stay on this earth allowing me to build a deeper relationship with Him and to finally understand and accept His free gift of salvation is truly a blessing and undeniably my “lagniappe”. God is the only reason that I have this lagniappe time. He chose for me to stay here and so this life I have now is no longer my own. This lagniappe life I’m living now belongs to Him and He can use it for His will.
After making the decision to live my lagniappe life for Jesus, I felt the next step I needed to take was to profess my decision and my faith publicly. This is done through baptism. 37 years ago, two of the most loving parents and two of the most loving Godparents stood before their church and my family and professed my faith for me as I was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although I have the highest respect for them for doing that on my behalf, I feel that salvation is a personal decision between me and God, and the only way to enter God's kingdom is if I accept it for myself.
What is important to understand here is that after studying God’s Truth, my entire belief system about baptism has changed. I believe that salvation is a prerequisite to being baptized NOT the other way around as I previously thought. My baptism is a symbol of my salvation and a symbol only. Just as a wedding ring symbolizes marriage, a baptism symbolizes salvation. Being baptized does not make me saved any more than wearing a wedding ring would make me married. Being baptized by no means guarantees me a free ticket to heaven. If I had not first accepted God’s free gift of salvation, Pastor Kirk could have dunked me a thousand times and the only thing guaranteed is that I would be soaking wet, extremely exhausted and left gasping for air. Salvation is God’s free gift available to all of us. What I have learned is there is absolutely no amount of great works anyone can possibly do to deserve or earn it. All we have to do is just be willing to accept it. I just keep asking myself why it took me so long to figure that out.
Being baptized during this Easter season was particularly special because water baptism symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus Christ died for you and He died for me. All of our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus and it was only through His death that all of our sins could be buried. When Pastor Kirk completely submerged me in the water and baptized me in the name of Jesus, all of those incorrect beliefs I had, all of my wrong ways of thinking, and all of my sins were submerged in the water with me. As I rose up out of the water, I was overcome with an amazing feeling of freshness and cleanness knowing that everything wrong in my past life was left submerged and buried in that water - FOREVER. I rose up as a new creation in Christ ready for my new life where I will follow the ways of the Lord as he guides me and teaches me. You see, now I know the TRUTH. Once I accepted God’s free gift of salvation I can no longer fear death. For no matter what prognosis I get and no matter what the outcome, I have a new found immortality. I will have eternal life through Jesus Christ.
So, whoever reads this.... Please read my words carefully. JESUS loves YOU. He loves you more than anyone of this world could possibly love you. More than the most loving parent on earth would love their sweetest child. Believe in Jesus so you can be saved and have eternal life. It’s as easy as ABC - Admit that you are a sinner and repent, Believe that Jesus is God’s son and He paid the penalty for our sins and Confess your faith. Invite Him in your life and receive all the love and blessings He desperately wants to pour upon you. Once all of that is done, please be sure to invite me to be a witness at YOUR water baptism.
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