I keed, I keed! ;) I won't go into too much detail about my sister's personal business because I didn't really ask her permission to do so, but let me just say that the person she is today is NOT who she was just a short time ago. Let me rewind just two short years ago (again, without going into too much detail)...
Emily Rachel was just 22 years young, living in Clarksburg, AKA Clarksturd, WV. She had started attending Fairmont State University (after passing partying 101 at WVU at the tender age of 20), and she was doing very well there. Not only was she back in school, she was also working nearly full-time for the ARC (Association for Retarded Citizens). She was living in a cute little two bedroom house in the neighborhood that we grew up in. Her life seemed to be coming together. Thank God! She had finally pulled herself out of a disastrous relationship...and I mean DISASTROUS!
Not going into too much detail, but this guy was...well...how do I put this lightly? A holy freakin' mess! Nice person, bad, bad habit ;) Get it? His addiction consumed their relationship. Who am I kidding? It consumed him, his family, Emily, our family, and anyone who lived near him. Criminal trespassing charges anyone? Crazazy!!! No more details ;)
Thank you, Lord for deliverance!!! With the fairly kind-hearted guy with MAYJAH issues outta the picture, Emily's life was coming together. Thank you, Lord for hearing our prayers! She had actually started attending church with her long-time friend Julie and her family. Somebody's knocking...should she let Him in? She started getting copies of sermons that pulled on her heart. It was pretty cool to see the small changes happening...as a praying sister, you know? ;)
Then in May 2006, she moved from Turdville to Pawleys Island to live with my mom and step-dad. Jamie and I had been visiting, just before Emily arrived. We desperately wanted to keep this church-lovin', God-changin' momentum going, so we searched and found a college ministry in the area to help feed her soul, once she arrived. Jamie and I really knew the importance of Emily finding a place with people her own age, people who love God, people who hopefully weren't going to the bars, people who would love her, help God guide her, a place where she would be fed the Word and grow in her relationship with Christ. I'm sure we over-stated the importance of it. I'm sure we were pushy about it. We honestly would have hired someone to drag her there...but she actually went on her own the very first Thursday she was in town.
Long, long story...sorry :/ Emily would call me crying constantly about how hard it was to be here in South Carolina without her friends, without our extended family. She was so lonely and depressed :/ Jamie and I continued praying. It's all we could do, besides counsel and guide her over the phone. I just kept encouraging her to keep attending Refuge on Thursdays, and she did. I remember her calling me in October or November 2006. She was crying and telling me that the only place she felt okay was at church. She said she didn't want to leave there on Thursdays. While she was crying, I was rejoicing. I was smiling inside :) I felt she had finally come to a place where she needed to be...a place we all need to be. Like Rick Warren says, "You'll never really know God, until you realize God's all you've got!"
Fast forward a year or so later. Emily joined a group of girls her age at church who met weekly for fellowship and to study God's word. It was different for her, I'm sure. She'd never really had "Christian" friends before. She'd never been a part of a group at church, but she stuck with it, and today one of the group members is her best friend. (P.S. We LOVE you Kayce!) Of course, there have been bumps in the road for Emily. She has and is still sort of struggling with not keeping her heart solely for God. She was in love. They broke up. He says he's selfish. I say, "LISTEN TO HIM!" God has something and someone so much better than that, right? I know it's hard, Em, but has He failed you yet? Absolutely not :) I got my baby, didn't I? It took a while, right? Not on my time...His time. Just reminding you ;)
So who would have thought? My little sister who partied out of WVU, the one who wrecked a few cars, the one who was thrown out of a few places for arguing a little too much with a few people, the one who has had some real weiners for boyfriends, the one who would never go to church with me on Christmas Eve, the one who never wanted to leave Clarksturd, the one who said, "It's my life, Andrea! Let me live it," the one who once walked into my aunt's house with a club-going shirt and pajama pants on, the one who hated me and used to go weeks without talking to me and months without seeing me, the one who hung out with...well...you get the picture. You ready for this??? That same girl is now in New York City! She's completing an internship with Citi (formerly Citigroup)! On Fifth Avenue! She rides the subway! She cares how she dresses! She found a church to attend and actually got up on her first Sunday there and went! She says she might be going to South Africa this coming summer!
Emily, like dad always asks, "Where's little Emily?" I love you, and I couldn't be more proud of you for allowing our Saviour to come into your life and wreak havoc on it ;) I know I'm not the boss of your life, and I'm thankful that you know Who truly is :)
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! " --- 2 Corinthians 5:17
Dear Lord, thank you for my new sister. I kind of get along better with her than the old one ;)
P.S. You should check out Emily's blog. The link to it is to the right on this page. It would be saweet, if you would leave her a comment too :) Ya heard?
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