completely different – LightWater Mission

“I was one way… and now I am completely different, and the thing that happened in between was Him.”
The Chosen

These words resonated deep within my soul from the moment I first heard them. They replayed in my head for days afterward. And they can still bring tears to my eyes when I recall them.

I was one way,

I WAS … one way …

Now … completely different

Completely different, DIFFERENT

In between was Him …

… was Him was Him, was HIM.

I thought about these words the other day when I was meeting with a new friend. She has experienced some hard things and wanted me to share some of the healing that I have found in my life.

As I sat across the table from her, I looked into her eyes and I saw pain and confusion.

I saw searching and longing.

I saw, for just a moment, a piece of me that once was.

It was at that moment that I knew God had truly brought me so far. He has renewed my heart and given me a hope that I never thought was possible.

I closed my eyes right there in the middle of listening to her share—for just a quick second—and I said, “Thank You, Jesus. Thank You so much. I am sorry that I sometimes forget.“

a testimony of renewal

There is still pain in life. There is still sadness and heaviness. And even recently, in the dead of winter, I can find myself just wanting the sun to come, just wanting to smell the fresh air of spring, just wanting something new. I find myself feeling lonely and like I’m just going through the motions so much that I can often forget.

I forget that God has already given me something new.

I forget that I have access to that newness every single day.

I forget that God has so renewed me that even as I sat across from this lady and listened to her speak, I recognized and remembered so much of it, yet I knew that it’s not the “me” of today.

As I shared with her my experience with Jesus and how He has renewed so much of my life, a fire re-ignited deep inside of me.

A fire that burns to never—not even for a second—forget.

A fire that burns to tell every person I can of what He has done for me and continues to do for me.

The Lord doesn’t renew us so that we can walk around as if it never happened. He doesn’t clean us and make us white as snow only for us to still feel dirty. He didn’t send His Son to die on a cross so that we can live a life of condemnation and shame. Yet, it’s exactly what so many of us do.

I still vividly remember that hour I first believed. I still remember that moment when I first felt the love of Jesus, and there are no words to truly describe it. It changed me and I will forever be changed.

a prayer for renewal

As this new year starts, I pray for a new depth of renewal for us all. I pray that we are renewed in our minds and hearts at a level we have never known, so that we may walk out and live the life that God longs for us. I pray that when people look at us, we won’t need to say anything because they will see for themselves—

We were one way and now we are completely different, and the ONLY thing in between… was indeed HIM.