Tuesday, May 10, 2011

On a Personal Note: How Amy Grant shaped me

I wasn't just a minor fan of Amy Grant as a 3-year-old. In my mind, I was her. I knew exactly how she held her mic in her left hand and how her other hand casually made gestures. I knew how she interacted with Michael W. Smith on stage when they performed together. I knew that she lived outside of Nashville on a farm and I hoped to one day live there too.

Well, I don't live in Nashville but these photos were taken 2 minutes from where we live in Raleigh/Durham. So, it's a little more "Amy" than my other homes in southern CA and AZ.

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In light of Mother's Day this past weekend, I was thinking about what my mom instilled in me and modeled for me. Her love for me and others and the way she always pointed me to Christ is a priceless gift in my life. I also thought about people who can't be moms biologically or who have lost their mom and how that must be especially painful each May. That led me to thinking about women who have been "spiritual moms" to me over the years. Women who have poured their wisdom into me and have picked up where my mom left off when I left home. I'm a different woman because of the ways God has used them.

Now, don't laugh, but this led me to think about how Amy Grant was a "spiritual mom" to me without even knowing it. Yes, I was analyzing her performance mannerisms and doing my hair in a style I called "Amy Grant Style", but I was also hearing about who Jesus was in her life as I effortlessly memorized the words to her songs (oh, to have that memory again).

Here are a few that still play in my head today:

I can't imagine ever leaving now.
Now that I've been saved by love,
Saved by love, saved by love.
He's gone and turned my crazy world back around,
And I've been saved by love,
Saved by love, saved by love.


Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.

I will not forget
Your love for me and yet,
My heart forever is wandering.
Jesus be my guide,
And hold me to Your side,
And I will love you to the end.

Nothing will I fear
As long as You are near;
Please be near me to the end.

These songs were some of the early shapers of my faith. They made me want to know who Jesus was and to really talk to Him.

All this to say, I feel encouraged to be a "spiritual mom" to the younger women God puts in my path. I want them to see and experience God's glory and faithfulness in my life and I want them to be drawn to Him. I want to speak truth to them as so many good women have to me. I want to make disciples who, in turn, make disciples. Like Paul, I want to be able to say:

"Follow me as I follow Christ."

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And just to keep it real...below is me reacting to thinking I may have stepped in some poison ivy or poison oak...I'm still a city girl!


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