Skip to main content

Not so Ordinary

We went to church with my brother and his awesome wife while we were visiting last weekend and the preacher started his message with an idea that's really got me thinking.

He talked about the fact that Jesus was very ordinary, ordinary looking that is. There were no orbs of light surrouding his head, or a choir of angels to announce his coming. In fact, he pointed out that if you were to look at a picture of Jesus sitting with his disciples, more than likely Jesus would have blended right into the group. Now of course Jesus' ministry was anything BUT ordinary. Everything that he did set him apart from those around him. So for the past few days I have been pondering on a couple of things.

First of all, I thank God that Jesus took on human form to come and be crushed for our iniquities. I know that there is not a single struggle that I will face that Jesus did not encounter while he walked the earth. He was tempted by Satan himself, he experienced suffering and grief and joy and every other emotion my heart will feel, and more. Christ became a man so that he could identify with every obstacle that I must overcome. He truly can grieve when I am grieving and shout for joy when I experience victories because he KNOWS firsthand what I am going through. I can rest in Him, knowing that He has been down this road before me!

The second thing that really has me thinking is that as a Christian, I am called to be more like the One who was pierced for my sin. Yes, I like Jesus look ordinary from an outward glance. Like Christ, a picture of me would not explain anything about my life or set me apart from a crowd, but what about my life, is it ordinary as well? Do I blend in with the crowd? Or, do I stand out like a sore thumb because my actions speak of the Savior I follow? I'm afraid to say that I am more of a chameleon than a world changer. But, I feel challenged to change that because little eyes are watching to see the Christ in me. My actions will speak so much louder than the words that spew from my mouth. I must live my life so that Tyler and Katy know Who I serve without ever having to tell them.

So, flood my life Holy Spirit. Come in and lead this weary mom to become so much more than ordinary for the One that was crushed for me!

Comments

Andi Hawkins said…
You are already a shining example to your kids and to me. Thank you for being such a good friend and anything but ordinary. Love you.
May 31, 2008 at 12:21 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hello My Name is Jamie- Part 5

Sorry for the long delay in this last post…life has been FULL! I want to wrap up this series on my 12 Steps journey by sharing the blessings that have come as a result of surrendering my life and will to my Redeemer(I am skipping ahead to the end). JOY…real joy! I have always been known to my friends and family as a happy person, but my happiness was contingent upon the circumstances of my life. As long as life fit into my little box of perfection and people treated me like I “needed” them to treat me, my joy remained intact. I now know that my joy comes from the Lord. My happiness is no longer tied to people who are going to disappoint me (surprise, they’re human too) or to all of the “stuff” that will happen in life. My joy is my salvation, in the One who paid my ransom! Peace. I can’t help but think of the old song we used to sing at church camp, “I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.”! Those words have REAL meaning for me now. Think about a river. Its path is tumultuou...
8 comments
Read more

Hello My Name is Jamie- Part 4

The day that I made the decision to sit down and begin my moral inventory, will forever be etched into my heart. It was a cold and dreary winter day, much like the state of my spirit. In all honesty, I was DREADING the task at hand. Who in their right mind would want to make an account of every painful memory from the past as well as every sin committed against others?!?! As I sat down at a Starbucks with my favorite flavored coffee beverage in hand, I began praying Psalm 129:23, “Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover…if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.” I knew that there was pain from my childhood buried so deep that only He would have the power to bring to the surfaces. For so long, I had masked and/or stuffed the wounds in my life, rather than allowing Him to heal them. Within minutes of my prayer, the memories came pouring down like the rain I could hear outside. Just a little side-note, if you ever decide to take a painful j...
9 comments
Read more

Hello my Name is Jamie- Part 2

I hesitantly signed up to attend a 12 Step Recovery Study with a group of women I had never met. Unfortunately, I had pre-judged Celebrate Recovery and the type of people who attended it. I assumed(never a good thing to do) that I was above the issues that required “recovery”. God used the first night with my step-sisters as the first chain in the link of breaking down my pride. I sat in a room of women who were able to verbalize all of things that I was feeling but didn’t know how to express. The Lord had lead me to a group of amazing, strong women who knew exactly where I was at, and loved me just the same. I wept in my car as I drove away from our first meeting because I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had FINALLY found the place that would strip me of my character defects and draw me closer to the Lord. Until this point, I had lived my life in a cycle of insanity. Insanity has been defined as “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result ea...
4 comments
Read more