This is the article I wrote for this week’s newsletter, The HillTopper. Thought I would share it with all of you!
Here I Am, Lord
If you know me well, you know I do not believe in coincidences. I see the Lord’s plan in things when things seem to “happen for a reason.” Sunday was June 15th which marked eight years since I lost my dear friend Katie Brookshire. If you’ve heard any part of my testimony, you know the beginning of it starts with the death of my friend. I was not a Christian until Katie died and I looked at this friends life and said, “I want the peace and the joy that Katie had.” It took a little while to surrender my entire worldly life to the Lord, but I eventually came whole heartedly before the Lord wanting every bit of Him to fill every ounce of my being.
So about coincidences, on Sunday we sang the song “Here I Am, Lord.” Most would think that we sung this song due to the content of Rev. Bill’s sermon…but I knew it was for Katie, or a gentle reminder from the Lord to me of the calling on my life. I’m not quite sure why I associate this song with Katie…I always have. I don’t know if we sang it at her funeral or I heard it in the weeks after, but every time I hear the song, I hear Katie’s voice saying, “Here I Am, Lord.” You see, Katie lived her life in such a way that you knew she loved Jesus. Katie was the first example to me that being a Christian was so much more than going to church on Sunday morning (which was my mentality up to this point). Katie had a relationship, something I knew nothing about.
Since beginning my own relationship with Jesus the cry of my heart has been and I pray over the last five years you have been witness to it, “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.” My prayer for you today, even if you didn’t know Katie, a beloved child of God, that you would be encouraged to look deep within. Do you have this relationship that Jesus desires us all to have? Do you desire to hear His voice calling in the night? And would your response be, “I will go, Lord, if you lead me?”