What were you?

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
1 Corinthians 1:26-27

I was going through some old photos on my laptop last night, and I found some gems from pre- and early high school, such as a family vacation to Las Vegas and a trip to Chicago with my brother. I hadn’t opened these files in at least six years, and what I found was almost laughable.

Back when I wore boys’ clothes, cut my own bangs, and had terrible acne. It was a somewhat shocking sight. And it’s almost more shocking to think about who I was back then.

An angsty, adolescent female who dreamt of rock concerts and wanted nothing to do with church. Who was teased at school and could count her shady social circle on one hand. Who didn’t want to exist and regularly scripted suicide notes.

This was about two years before I read the words, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and studied Lewis’s Mere Christianity in Sunday school, which God used to help lead me back to Him. When I think of that girl, that lost sheep, it’s hard to believe she’s now living in Africa as a missionary to “defend the weak and the fatherless, uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed,” and to “rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3-4).

There’s no way that transformation could have happened by my own power, or solely by the power of therapists or medication (not that I don’t condone seeking professional counseling).

That transformation was done by the power of Christ. He is the reason I am sitting at a dining room table in my house in Swaziland, surrounded by thread and fabric and paper beads to teach struggling women how to support themselves out of prostitution.

There’s no way I can say, or even think, “Way to go, Rachel! You did it! You made something of yourself!”

All I can say is, “Wow, God. You repaired this weak, broken vessel, and now you are using it as a testament of your love and grace. I owe everything I am to you.”

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31