Tag Archives: change

Change and Faith: Mile Mark 3-1-6

05 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by in Brain Tumor, Faith, Inspirational, Love, Relationships

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I could finally see the wreck from a distance; cars were backed up for miles on this long and curvy one-lane road and when the scene first appeared at the base of a Virginia mountain-side, I gasped–not at the sight but as I noticed the mile mark—3-1-6.

NC1Almost two years ago I had made the decision I was going to move. God had been giving me confirming messages through prayer and scripture and by this time it wasn’t a matter of if…but when. My pending thoughts on moving were a conversation between me and God so when I eventually revealed the news to my friends, family and business partners (about 6 months later), conflicting opinions created controversy.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

It had been a tough year. No, I take that back. It had been a tough three years; periods filled with beautiful peaks and very deep, dark valleys. Pain. Fear. Loneliness. Defeat. The valleys seemed to last so much longer than the peaks and it wasn’t as if moving to a new location would change that reality; however, I believed that the new scenery would help me to see the beauty even in the valley. Needless to say, I wanted a fresh start–somewhere else.

I think so many people are afraid of change because it’s so unpredictable. But isn’t life unpredictable? It doesn’t matter if change happens to us or because of us, it will still happen. I decided that if change was going to happen to me anyway, I was going to embrace it and in fact, create it.

A current and prior health train-wreck and financial train-wreck had left me very hopeless for months. Just because we know Jesus and have a relationship with Him, doesn’t mean we are immune to negative thoughts (or the enemy’s attacks). Actually, I’ve come to realize that the bigger the faith, the bigger the target. So watch your back and be prepared for anything. And instead of delaying the inevitable (change happening to me-as a result of circumstances), I decided to be proactive—and hoped to create something positive from it.

So last June of 2014 I sold and gave away all my belongings (by that point it was just meaningless baggage I wanted to leave behind), moved into a vacant condo (that a friend graciously let me stay in during my transition in Wisconsin) – with nothing but the necessities, and I began my search for a new “home.” I vaguely give specifics of what was happening during that time because the details aren’t important for this particular article. However, please don’t misinterpret the message because the decisions, circumstances and changes were far from easy. Change is never easy. I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen next, I didn’t even have a plan (not recommended) but surprisingly I was calm and at peace with whatever it would be.

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16

…And As God always does, He aligned a location (North Carolina), a place to live, income opportunities for financial stability, a church home AND people; my, how He aligned me with amazing people! All in less than 30 days. It was home. (God honors our faith. See Hebrews 11:6)

Jordan Lake

Now, being eight months into this “fresh start” in North Carolina – a location that had never even crossed my mind when I first thought of moving, but now can’t imagine being anywhere else… I can finally look back and see God’s hand in ALL of it! Praise be to HIM!

I think sometimes we mistake the challenges God gives us as punishment or persecution, rather than opportunity. I spent a lot of time being mad at God because of where my life was at – and never really looking inward at myself and the opportunities for learning or growing from those challenges. Lesson repeated until lesson learned. UGH! I lacked faith. Sure, from a distance it may have appeared that I was faithful, trusting and obedient. But God knows our hearts. And admittedly, my heart was timid, frustrated and scared; and my inaction proved it.

It’s a humbling experience when God’s grace meets our pride (and selfishness) and we finally realize how helpless we are without Him. We’re usually faced with two choices–continue doing the same things as we were – and it will usually get worse, or surrendering and giving Him the power to control our destiny (or destination in my case) – and it will usually get better. I knew I had to start walking in faith and asking Him to show me the way, lead my steps and pave a path…if I wanted things to get better.

And He did!

...But, it required me to take action, to take the first step!

…and walk by faith… 

The irony of it all was that the verses that kept popping up in my Bible reading prior to the move all had the numbers 3-1-6 in them! Even the bracelet that I wear today as I write this post is the well known verse John 3:16.

Coincidence? Hardly.

john 316

It was as if He wanted me to stop and see mile mark 3-1-6 during the 15 hour trek as confirmation that where I was headed was part of HIS plan (not my own). All the challenges that I used as excuses for not stepping out in faith for so long were now erased when I took the first step…and God made a way–just as He did when He sent his Son to the cross as a living sacrifice for our eternal redemption:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

A life-transforming move to the South may not be in your future (like it was for me) but I pray that you embrace change, walk by faith and trust Jesus who will lead you towards an amazing “final-destination” — in Heaven.

Blessings,

Kristen

Will You Change Before it’s Too Late?

19 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Inspirational, Legacy, Love, Relationships

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(Remembering my Aunt Sandy whose life was cut short on August 11th, 1993 – exactly 20 years ago)

LIFE Leadership offers each person a chance to change their life. This story was a major turning point for my family and a situation that has shaped part of who I am today. 

At 2pm on a warm summer day August 10th, 1993, tragedy struck a restaurant, a town and two families whose lives were changed forever. My brother and I were 8 years old at the time. Every day after school we would walk to grandma and grandpa’s house where they would take care of us when our mom was at work. My brother and I were in the basement playing when the phone rang.

“Hello, is Ann or Leon there? There has been an emergency and we need you to get to the hospital right away!”

In a panic, my brother and I were rushed out of the house where we sat in the neighbor’s living room anxiously wondering what was going on. Hours passed as we received little communication on the situation from the neighbor.

My mother was leaving work on her lunch hour as she always did. She intended on meeting her sister, Sandy, at the McDonald’s across the street from her office for lunch. Normally she didn’t go home during lunch but on this day she did because she wanted to check the mail. On her way back to the McDonald’s fear overcame her as she saw police officers pointed at the building, fire trucks, ambulance and yellow caution tape blocking all entrances. Immediately she knew something was wrong and remembered that Sandy was meeting her there for lunch.

aunt sandyAunt Sandy ran her own hair salon called Lords and Ladies only blocks away from the McDonald’s. So immediately my mother went to the salon on the prayer that Sandy had not left yet. As soon as she got there and found out her sister wasn’t there, panic set in. As my mom made her way back to McDonald’s to see if there was a way to find out what was happening, a police officer approached her and told her that Sandy had been shot and she needs to get to the hospital now.

A man by the name of Dion Terres was a criminally insane man. Reports and video footage indicated that Terres, 26, wanted to be known as the man who was one of the worst serial killers in the country’s history. Notes were later found revealing Terres plans to blow up a beach with the explosives that he had accidentally locked in his car. But on that August day, Terres walked into the side door of the Pershing Blvd McDonald’s in Kenosha and opened fire. His killing spree stopped there as he killed two people in the building and wounding a third before killing himself (after realizing he had locked himself out of his car.) And at 3:00am on August 11th, 13 hours after the shooting Sandy was pronounced dead.

We read about, hear about and watch these things in the media but to think it would ever happen to us is nonsense. But on that fatal day, our family was victim to murder. What does a family do when this type of tragedy hits? While the grieving process eventually passes in time, the fear, pain and anger never goes away. And yet, we hear stories like this all the time, of families who are victim to tragedy. We empathize when we hear sad stories but does it really move us enough to make any changes in our own life?

I didn’t write this to make you feel bad or mourn for this loss as this was many years ago and Aunt Sandy’s story and legacy is being written. Major crisis in a person’s life always forces us to reevaluate our own life as if to make changes based on purpose and priorities. There are so many lessons that can be learned during these turning points in our life. While there are many, these are some I choose to focus on each day:

1)      Don’t waste even a single day of your life.

  • “There is no significance in a safe life and there is no safety in a significant life. Make each day count.” Chris Brady

2)      Spend time with those you love.

  • Life is short…

3)      Know why you believe what you believe.

  • “Eternity is a long time to be wrong” Tim Marks

4)      Serve others.

  • It is what God has called us to do.

5)      Focus on the positive.

  • Negative thoughts only breed negative behaviors. Choose to be positive all the time!

It does not have to take a tragedy to realize that changes can and should be made in ones life. Unfortunately, very few people actually do it; then 2 years, 5 years, 10 years and 20 years pass and we ask ourselves, where did the time go? Tomorrow is not guaranteed; so why do we continue to act as if it is? What are you going to do today to create your life’s masterpiece? Don’t wait for a major turning point in your life to happen for permission to change. As Chris Brady says, “life has no rewind button, but it is being recorded.” Do you like the movie you are creating for yourself? Or the bigger question is, will you change before it’s too late?

Blessings,

Kristen