Odd and Unshakeable

I've always been most comfortable when circumstances are just a little odd. It's where the colors are more vibrant, the mundane feels like a grand adventure and the people become my favorite characters in a beloved story. It makes the day more fun to wake up to when you KNOW there is something waiting for you, completely unexpected. It's not all good but it's the hard bits that make the good bits even better.

When I became a Christian in 2009, it took my oddities to places unknown. I was speaking with words I hadn't previously used and I felt like I was seeing with fresh eyes. My heart began to soften and the grey of right and wrong started to divide more to black and white. I gained a deeper understanding and better execution of love, even where disagreement prevailed.

It's not been an easy road but one worth stepping onto.  I'm less recognizable but I hope that's a good thing. Following God means getting used to a new normal, one where my faith includes miraculous healing, unexpected provision, beautiful restoration, unexplainable strength, supernatural peace, insight outside of myself, opportunities for unlikely fellowship, prayer that takes on life and Jesus Christ was resurrected after unspeakable anguish.  For this world, and in our culture, it can all be very odd. My faith is subject to mocking, disdain, hatred and misunderstanding.  I could be relieved of all this opposition if I just walked away and embraced worldly standards. The problem is, that it's impossible now. I have seen too much. My odd faith IS my reality. It is the solid ground on which I stand, so I stand unshakeable.

I'm not Biblically savvy.  I just know the people in it have been through all manner of brokenness.  In these lives, the ones that sought reconciliation -sometimes even before they acknowledged their longing for it -  God showed up to come alongside.  This continues today, as I have seen in my own life.

I am not good with the confines of religion but I have developed a relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I seek the will of God, the example of Jesus and the counsel of the Holy Spirit. Odd, I know, but true nonetheless

I do my best to follow God into my day because I stumble less when I do. I wish I could say I didn't at all but I can get distracted, disobedient and rebellious. We do a lot of work together, God and I.  I follow Him because He is a leader who has given me something worth following.