Sunday, April 25, 2010

we were merely freshmen

Freshman year at LU I had to write a speech about my testimony and where I wanted to be 5 years from now (then)...

My name is Miranda Canady. I became a Christian when I was 9 but it wasn't until middle school that I realized the big picture of the commitment I had made back then. I entered middle school and surrounded myself with the "in crowd." I was a middle school mean girl. I had convinced myself that me and my group of friends were the only things worth my time. By the time I was in 8th grade, my whole life had made a 180. The people I surrounded myself with, the things I thought were important, everything. It all changed after a revival my youth group went on. I know most people don't agree with the term rededication, but it was truly a time of rededication for me. It was the first time I realized everything about the commitment I had made as a 9 year old and became a true turning point in my life. In high school I feel like my faith took a backseat to field hockey and soccer and all the other activities I participated in. There were times when I felt that God was so close I could touch Him and there were other times He felt so far out of sight that I wasn't sure when I'd see Him again. I went through a lot of ups and downs trying to find myself during those years. By senior year I had fed myself the lie that God didn't care about me. I used to describe the way I had felt as drowning. I felt like I was in the middle of the ocean slowly drowning and no one was there to help me up. I had convinced myself that God only cared about those who had already hit the bottom of the ocean and that I was left alone. I thought that I had to do bad things to get God to pay attention and notice that I was struggling. However, now, I feel like I'm a walking example that no matter how far you run, once you are a child of God, Christ is never going to let you go. I can honestly stand here and tell you today that Jesus Christ is the only thing that has ever changed my life. I wish I could tell you that in 5 years I know what I'd be doing with my life, but I don't. My job choice changes almost on a daily basis...and I mean drastically. One day I will want to be a magazine editor and then Thursday night rolls around, I watch ER, and suddenly I want to be a brain surgeon. There are so many things that I'm passionate about. And I'm sort of a big dreamer so sometimes I get caught up in unrealistic goals. What I do know is that I love working with people, so when I came to Liberty I decided to major in Communications. The media nowadays is so liberal that I feel like I could make a difference just by being that beacon of light in a liberal world. Just to take a stand for Jesus and have a faith that is so contagious. The media is so influential and to be a part of that would be amazing. I've also really learned in the past year that its not about me and what I want for my life, its about Jesus. So I just trust that He will lead me where He needs me to be and use me in that way. Aside from career goals, personally, in 5 years I hope that I am more grounded in my faith. I hope that I know enough scripture to back up everything I believe, and that I am able to give intelligent responses when I'm asked about my faith. I hope that between now and 5 years from now, all of my lost friends come to Christ. I hope I am given an opportunity to mentor girls younger than me so that they can see Jesus' love through me just like I see Jesus through the people who poured into my life. And most importantly, I hope that in 5 years I have become so dependent on God that I won't use people as a crutch. I pray that if all I have is God and nothing else, that I would be content with that.

It's been 5 years. Life makes a little more sense now.

1 comment:

  1. Miranda, I just spent about an hour at work, reading and laughing so hard to your blog...i'm putting a link on ours...you're hilarious and I miss your quirkyness!! You are a doll :)

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