Who Do You Know?

As I think about Lynda and her life, I'm reminded every time of how God uses weak and imperfect vessels to carry his love to our world.  When Lynda passed away, there weren't long lines of people at the funeral to pay their respect and say their good-byes.  There was a small group of close friends who had been by her side from the beginning when she came into our family and we moved back to Oxford for her to go to school at the Oxford Child Development Center...lovingly called OCDC and later when she entered the North Mississippi Regional Center (NMRC) as an adult.

Lynda didn't ever hold a job so she didn't receive benefits from social security to help pay for her funeral.  Since the age of ten when she had a stroke, she could no longer call the name of her nana or dada.  She certainly didn't know the mayor of our town or the governor of our state.  There were no calls from the president of the United States or dignitaries from other countries and governments.  To the common observer, it appeared that Lynda Taylor Smith was a special needs adult who never grew beyond the forever child that she was.  She certainly had no great accomplishments that put her on the path to meet important people or rub elbows with the rich and famous.

She lived and died a person who lived on the fringe of society, so to speak because of her disabilities.  Often people looked at her in pity because she was so imperfect according to this world's standard.

It is a reality that Lynda knew no presidents or heads of state but she knew the creator of the universe.  He called her friend.  She was the daughter of the king of creation who made heaven and earth and everything that exists.  She is the daughter of THE king and co-heirs with Jesus.  What did she do to be adopted into this family of God by the Father himself?  Absolutely nothing.  Just like all of the rest of us who are daughters and sons of the King, we are counted as worthy simply because of God's grace.

Have you ever really taken it all in?  If you are a believer in Jesus and have given your heart to him...you too are of royal blood...the royal blood of our savior Jesus Christ.  You actually have the Holy Spirit living inside you every day of your life.  GOD RESIDES INSIDE YOUR HEART!  Our God who is the king of the universe has set up residency in our hearts and has promised to never leave us.  That just blows my mind!

When we cross the gulf between this world and the next...we will reign with Jesus.  We will worship and give glory to God forever.  Because of who we knew on earth?  No, because of who we trusted in and got to know as a personal savior.

It doesn't matter that she had no rich and influential friends on earth.  I believe she always was surrounded by God's angels.  It doesn't matter that her life was filled with  pain and suffering because God promised to wipe every tear away and give her a body and mind that is perfect.

Don't ever feel ordinary if you are saved.  You are the daughters and sons of the king.  When satan comes to call and whispers lies in your ears...rebuke him in the name of the Lord and remind him that he fell from heaven and that you are bought with a price that he can never, ever snatch you from the arms of Jesus.  Satan is defeated.  God is on the throne and Lynda is in heaven among the most important and influential people ever...those who have been redeemed and are spending eternity with God.