I am 24 today. I am grateful for the grand author who has composed in me a profound adventure to walk through in communion with Him. I am overcome and awed by Christs pursuit of me when I was in the desert and that He kept His hand over me when my reckless youth flirted with a laundry list of toxic vices. 24 is a big year for me. Primarily because I am new. I AM NEW! And I am being renewed, refined, inspired, stretched, challenged, and molded every day because of Gods unfailing mercy. This time last year, I was very SICK. Anxiety ate away at my body, and depression hung itself around my shoulders. The spirit of isolation consumed me and, in turn, I struggled with self-deprecation, self-abuse, and an eating disorder. Through an incredibly uncomfortable and challenging intervention, I was encouraged to pursue counseling. My immediate reaction was anger, fear, despair and sorrow. My demons made a mess of me and I allowed that to drive me from my community of believers and strongly consider leaving the faith. However, the Lord pressed me into therapy with a phenomenal counselor who is incredibly bold, authentic, spiritually mature, and gifted. Week by week God (through her hands and feet) began piecing my life back together. She taught me that I have a voice, can establish healthy boundaries, am not my reactions and have the capacity to respond to circumstances in a constructive manner. And the coolest thing happened. I started HEALING. At the time I was also blessed with a bold roommate whose pursuit of her passions is a testimony that is its own masterpiece. She gave me The Artists Way and encouraged me to start pursuing my passions. The marriage of therapy and art chiseled away at my figure as a poet and an artist. God began to breathe vision. And I was overcome. In January, I began attending The Anchor Fellowship. I was met by the grace of God and given a haven of compassion and healthy friendships. FAMILY. My family: David and Keeli Price took me in not only as a best friend but in many odd ways [because we are not far in age] as a daughter. Their guidance and wisdom has sustained me in many weak hours. They have never hesitated to provide for me a place of moral, mental, and emotional support. They gave me a job...which I LOVE... and introduced me to new passions as an artist because they are FOR me. They BELIEVE in me even when I dont believe in myself, or am being unwise and making really crappy decisions. Praise God for a Nashville family to curl up in, laugh with, cry with, fight with, and be passionate about. And then there was Emily. I believe in soul-mates not only in romance, but in friendships. This year, God introduced me to one of mine and allowed me to experience her in an incredibly fragmented yet concentrated period of time. Emily came into my life and taught me how to verbally rebuke fear and death. As soon as I learned my authority as an heir I began to see miraculous spiritual and physical healing. Prayer became a wellspring and barricades that kept me from hearing the voice of the Lord began to crumble. Emily is constantly stretching me like a canvas around the rungs of this life which often leave me feeling raw and awake. She preaches discipline, makes me sit up straight, rebukes my lies, and holds me. I love her more than even my best words could ever write. All of this to say, Today, I am 24. But for the first time in my life, Im actually reborn. This is because people along the way have been willing to love me unceasingly...even when I was in the midst of complete self-destruction, or if saving me meant the death of our relationship. So, thank you for what you did, for all the things youve said, for times of encouragement, tough love, and messy arguments. You are all precious to me-the hands and feet of the living God who died so that I might live. Thank you for living according to your calling. You have changed my life. Emily Newton David Price Keeli Baldwin Price April Lowery Ban Christy Brooks Jamie L Welker Brandi Roe
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 12:18:45 +0000
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