Happy New Year!! Welcome to 2015, it’s going be an awesome year! Can you feel it in the air?
After two near death experiences in my life, (I almost drowned my freshman year of high school, and I got in a severe car accident in college) I got a sense that there was a purpose and a destiny for my life and God wasn’t ready for me to leave the earth yet.
My freshman year in high school, I was cutting class with a friend and decided to go swimming in a local river. On a quiet weekday afternoon with no one in sight, I got taken away by a strong current and after a long struggle, I physically, emotionally and mentally gave up. I took what I thought was my last breath after drinking a ton of water and being completely exhausted. This is when I saw my life flash before my eyes. Images of the people I loved flashed through my mind like photographs. I didn’t want to die, but I had no choice. It was over. This is when an angel disguised as a man jumped in out of no where and saved me. He put his arms around my neck and lifted my head above water; he proceeded to swim against the current one-handed towards the shore made out of rocks and pebbles. He laid me down and walked away; I never saw him again.
In college, I got in a head-on collision going 50+ miles per hour driving recklessly in the middle of the night after a fight with my girlfriend. I woke up in an ambulance with minor cuts and bruises and was released out of the hospital the same night. According to the police officer at the scene, I was a miracle. He had never seen a survivor from a car that was damaged the way that my car was damaged. I remember him telling me, “son, there must be a reason why you are still here.”
It’s been quite a journey since then to figure out why I still exist on this earth. But the one thing these near-death experiences have taught me was that I needed to change. I needed to grow up; I needed to put away my foolish ways and focus my energy, my purpose and my life on things that matter. And the things that matter are my relationship and my intimacy with my living God and my relationship and my love for the people that God places in my life.
I am changed. I am stronger. And my desire is to constantly change, seeking the purpose and destiny in my life, pursuing the very thing that God placed me on this earth for. I haven’t figured it all out yet, but I am committed to change. For me, 2015 is the year of more change. Less of me, more of Him….less of me, more of HIM.
Let’s change together.
PS. I don’t like country music, generally, but I am an American Idol fan. Don’t make fun of me. Carrie Underwood has been an amazing example of an artist becoming known and not wavering in her faith through her newfound fame. This is a song she sings about CHANGE. This resonates in my heart. I’ve listen to this song over and over again; it inspires me every time. Here’s the link to share with you.
