It Just Became Personal

Jason got to go to church with me on Sunday. He got moved to 2nds for the summer, and this is one GREAT thing about the shift change. It's so refreshing to have him there and be challenged together. Because our lead pastor and family have made the move to Fort Wayne, we had a guest pastor, Derry Prenkert, from Nappanee. Derry has spoke at our church previously, but Sunday, his sermon hit hard. His tag line for the sermon....IT JUST BECAME PERSONAL... I don't remember a lot, but I do remember so many convictions. Some of them follow.

Police officers have always been 'good' people in my book. I've never had a reason to not like them. They protect, they put their lives on the line everyday. I've had my fair share of times when I've been in desperate need for a police officer, and they came through when my life was on the line. That's a story for a later date. Even though I respected these men and women, I have reached a higher level of respect. My cousin-in-law and his father are (were) in law enforcement. I would pray for him and his lovely wife daily. BUT, my husband decided to leave the field of ministry to take a job as a police officer. Wow. IT JUST BECAME PERSONAL. I don't pray for the safety of those men and women out there protecting us anymore the way I used to. Those men and women have faces, they have names. It's Jared Roth, and his wife, MaryAnn, protecting streets of Illinois. It's all the men and women at Elkhart Sheriff's department, and all of their wives and kids who I've come to love and respect. It's my husband. IT JUST BECAME PERSONAL. If you read my first blog at all, you know that I am worried, no, terrified at where this world is headed. I pray for my future kids and the world they will be born into. I pray for my husband everyday as he heads off to work. There are many times I lay awake at night praying over him as he sleeps.I cannot pray that prayer of protection and integrity without all of those faces running through my mind. Lord, use them. Lord, protect them.

I used to pray for children in the world whose parents did not love them, did not provide for them, or simply did not know how or could not. I used to love them, without knowing them. This spring, IT JUST BECAME PERSONAL. That little child has a name. Her name is Chloe Weinberg. She now lives next door. Lord, thank you for this little girl's life, and delivering her from so much turmoil. Thank you for your blessings of a second chance of happiness and love. Thank you for her Aunt and Uncle Les and Shawna for seeing the need and embracing it. Protect her as she has a long road ahead of her. It becomes personal when there's a face and name to these people.

I used to pray for those teenagers facing the turmoil of this world. 2 summers ago, IT BECAME PERSONAL when I led a group of junior/senior girls to summer camp. I had my cousin, heading to IU in less than a year, and 3 juniors, one who was strong in her faith, one who knew what she believed, but found herself drifting away, and one who was told her whole life that there was no God, and she was on this trip to learn 'morals,' and get a better attitude....and we're going to send these girls into the High School, and onto college in the midst of the things going on around them without guidance? Yeah, it became personal. Those teenagers in the turmoil were then given a name. They were Kylie Yoder, Paige Bontrager, Michelle Hochstetler, and Dru Wheeler. It became personal when my relationship with them grew. It became personal when I prayed for their insecurities, for their needs, for their blessings, for their friends...it became personal when that teenager, who was told her whole life, there was no God.....accepted Christ as her personal savior. It hit me again this weekend as I stepped into her graduation open house to celebrate her accomplishment. Lord be with them as they head to college. Protect them and let them not be shaken. It's personal now.

Growing up, I was super close to my siblings...especially when my sister went off to college. You don't realize what you have until it's gone. I vowed to invest my time in my brother, my sister, and the rest of my dear family. All through high school, I drove my little brother to school. We walked into the building together. Often times he gave me a hug, thanked me for the drive..I would tell him to have a good day, and we would say our I love yous...Not a normal brother/sister relationship in high school, but I wouldn't change it. That year, things became personal. My dad had a terrible MRI, I didn't know how long he would be around. My mom had health problems...would she be okay? I was in a terrible car chase...I said my goodbyes on the phone. My sister got married...God bless my brother-in-law for keeping her here for me. I said I was going to invest my time in my family, and with all these things happening, could I really go to college? God provided, he delivered, and I went to Huntington (where I met my amazing Hubby). Being at Huntington, it allowed me to miss VERY VERY few sporting events of my little brother. I would drive during winter storm warnings both ways JUST to see a basketball. I would drive an hour and a half to watch 3 innings of baseball. My nephew was born the next year. I went home every other day to spend time with him. I stayed the night every Thursday to help my sister and be with my nephew. I would not miss a second. My niece was born last year, I wouldn't miss a moment of her life.....

And then my brother went to Huntington. I didn't make it to all the games, but I got play by play updates, and you better believe I would drive 2 and a half hours if I could, just to watch him play, even though I had mandatory class that night or work the next day. I vowed to invest in family. And now, he's in South Carolina, and I'm sitting on the computer LISTENING to baseball. I can't be there. My family can't be there to watch him play. It became personal when I didn't have all my family a simple drive away. Lord protect him, give him integrity, and bring him home soon.

My whole life, my dream was a family. From the time I can remember, kids clung to me. I would be tackled at church by the kids I babysat, or loved on. I nannied for years, I love my kids. I prayed for those people trying to get pregnant and couldn't, and I prayed for those moms who didn't want to be pregnant and were. I prayed that I would never have to face that. That too, BECAME PERSONAL. First with my dear cousin, who, God bless her, has been trying her hardest to get pregnant. Thank you Lord for putting people through situations to help others. No matter how long it may take her to get pregnant, whether it's immediately, or years...give them the patience and the wisdom to remember you have a plan. It became personal when those struggling couples were given a name. Lord be with them.

I've always grown up in a God loving home. My dad loved my mom. It was evident. There was so much love. It was a clean home. We had discipline (thank you, thank you, thank you!). I was never in want, but I'd like to think, I tried not to be greedy. My parents are great, great people. I love them to death...

Being out on your own, and trying to start your own life and family is stressful. I work full-time, I go to school full-time, I want time with my husband, I want kids...but when/where does that fit! I've found myself so stressed out over the struggle for time, finances, school, work, kids, you name it, that I often forget to stop and thank God for those blessings. It BECAME PERSONAL when we walked into the house after church on Sunday, and Jason says, "Wow, what a great house." He was not being conceited, he was being thankful. I'm sorry I'm not always so thankful, and thank you for giving me such a great husband to put it in perspective. We have a house, we have jobs, we have our health, we have a great/loving family, we have two terrific dogs who are a pain in the butt, we have a each other, and most of all, we have a living God who died for our sins, rose again, all powerful, all knowing, never leaves. He loves me so much that everything I do is personal to Him. Because of that, I need to become a fully-committed disciple and follow Him, let Him lead. I know how it feels when things JUST BECOME PERSONAL.