Jesus Lovers are Freaky to Me

I thought people who loved Jesus were freaky! I admit I did my share of rolling my eyes and steering clear of people that constantly talked about their Jesus. I found myself whispering under my breath, "Enough already" or "Here they go again". I mean total FREAKS! It was okay that I was a freak for football, fun with friends or my family, but those were things I could see and touch. In my mind, Jesus was a history lesson I had heard about growing up in church. He was a Sunday kind of thing and not very relevant to my present day. I was the girl that sat in Sunday school praying.....that the teacher wouldn't call on me to answer any questions.

I remember a friend in college inviting me to a church presentation. At the end, I was freaked out over a room full of freaks. I "played along" just so I would blend in. Inside my heart, I just kept thinking it was all too weird. I was so uncomfortable! I left and continued to seek my security and my worth in other feel-good things. I do remember that the harder I searched, the bigger the void became. Pleasures were short lived and the constant running to fill the hole in my heart became tiring.

Then I entered the corporate world. The world that thrives on materialistic things and success. I earned my spot in my own private cubical and I was a part of a team with purpose and goals. I was making a difference and the things I worked hard at mattered. I met friends and had help in pursuing fun that I felt was earned. There was one distraction. My cubical was adjacent to a Jesus freak. I began to feel like they were everywhere. This freak became my friend and lived out her Jesus daily for me to watch. It was freaky at times but I was drawn to her and her heart. She invested in me and I am sure she prayed for me. One day she blew me away when she gave me a devotional book that was her grandmothers. I couldn't believe she would give me something that was so special to her. I immediately felt guilty as I knew it didn't mean as much to me and that I really didn't even have a desire to read it. I took it home and later opened it. Some of it got on me. She knew God's Word doesn't return void. (Isaiah 55:11) However, I pushed it to the depths of my heart and continued to believe that I was in control of myself. It just made more sense and was easier to believe.

Then came the day that I was in a small plane and the runway was running out during our landing. I was about to be in a small plane crash and all the things I worked hard to control and obtain were of no help. It was my daughter's sweet little face that I saw in my thoughts. I began to question what would happen to her if I died and then I panicked. What would happen to me if I died? What if all of that freaky stuff was true? Once I was safe on the ground, I drove to the closest church. It had been poured into me so I knew church was where I needed to go for the REAL answers. Of course I sat right behind another freak. With her hands up in the air, her bracelets were a distraction to me. Weren't those people suppose to sit up front? I mean I couldn't hide in the back with all the commotion. Wouldn't you know it. During one part of the service she turned around and my best friend from fifth grade had grown up and was a freak! She walked the journey with me and Jesus used her to water all those seeds that had been planted over the years.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I thank my Jesus for my college freak, my co worker freak, and my fifth grade friend freak. I get it now! I am one of those freaks. There is a good kind of freaky that just gets you talking and changing everything about your life. To be honest, at times it is just as hard as that life I had when I was searching, but now it has purpose and there is a power that comes from the One I am freaky about. A power that can get you through anything. A power that is there beside you through it all and gives you a security that nothing in the world can provide.

So now that I am one of those freaky Jesus lovers, I have a lot of people I care about that I need to be freaky for until they get it. I am sure my words, my actions, and even my blogs wreak of freak. That is okay. I have a responsibility to help plant some seeds and let it "get on you". I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for those unselfish freaks in my life. I love them!!!!!
I now know that I mattered to them. More importantly, I know that with all my poor choices and my junk, there is a Jesus who desires to hang out with me. Not to punish me, but to fill the void that only He can fill.

This is Easter week. Step out of your comfort zone and hang out with the freaks. This world is full of them but make sure you hang out with the kind of freaks that you want to get on you. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it is just the thing you don't even realize you are looking for!