The last time we left
Jeremy, he had recently lost his wife, Melissa, and met a young woman
named Adrienne while he was touring. She had her own story however, (don’t we
all?) and she had become quite disenchanted with the whole Christian music
scene.
She was curious about
Jeremy though, she had heard he had been though something painful, and yet here
he was standing strong; she knew he was standing strong because of his
demeanor. It was the way he carried himself. He was different, and she wanted
to know why.
See, when you think no one
is watching you when you are struggling through a trial, you are wrong. Your
life is a reflection of Christ and your faith in Him. I realize there are times
you are going to be angry with God and I encourage you to be real and express
those emotions, to express your faith and all of its nuances to those you
encounter, but I also encourage you to be mindful of how you behave. Be mindful
that in your own stumbling you do not cause another to stumble. Look, I believe
that we will go though some pretty rough stuff, but when we come out of it, the
other side of that trial will be a testimony that will strengthen our brothers
and sisters. Jeremy’s did. There are going to be times too, where you will
stumble and you will feel like you can.not.get.up. ASK for help. It’s there for
the asking.
We are not perfect
creatures and presenting ourselves as such, or that WE have it “all together”
is exactly the kind of thing that causes people to shake their heads and walk
away from the church. Who can attain to that? Who wants any part of that? It’s
when we admit our failures, cry out in defeat and lean on the Holy One in our
shame that others see that there is HOPE for them too.
That’s what Jeremy was
doing and that’s what Adie was drawn to.
What started out as a friendship
blossomed into a love that drew them to the altar, where they pledged their
love before the King of Kings. I love that Adie’s verse was Isaiah 35:10, which
says, “and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, they will enter Zion with
singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads, gladness and joy will overtake
them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
She handmade each
invitation that was sent out for their wedding and in each one she included a
tiny wire crown. She wanted the focus of her wedding to be that not only is
Jesus Savior, He is also our King. When she came down the aisle to meet her
groom they sang “Here I am to Worship.”
Truly God was restoring to
Jeremy what the locust had eaten…
He began work on his third
album and about a year later they found out the joyous news that they were
going to be parents. Soon another child was added to their growing family, and
suddenly, FEAR.
Jeremy realized he was
thinking about how he would feel if he lost one of his children, the fear
welled up inside of him and became a tangible thing and almost as suddenly as
it gripped him it was gone as he realized he had faced this with the death of Melissa.
He knew that the thoughts were scary, and the pain he had been through was THE
worst pain he had ever imagined but he also knew that in the end, it was fine. The
thought of going through something like that scared him, but if it was required
he knew he would survive it, BECAUSE God would be with him.
You see, Jeremy learned
(and I am learning) that what he has gone through has REFINED him, not DEFINED
him. Lemme say that one more time: The trials you suffer are refining you, they
do not define you.
One of Jeremy’s friends DID
lose a child, that is EVERY parent’s worst imagination, and here’s what he had
to say, “Before this happened, I thought I had a strong relationship with God,
but I was only in a meadow near the cross. After this happened, I went to the
cross and stayed there.”
My question to you is, are
you hanging out in the meadow? Or you at the only place you hope can be found…the
Cross…
XOXO
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