The summer of my sixteenth year, I was a wedding waitress and as a thank-you gift to the waitresses, the bride gave us pierced earrings - only I was the only waitress without pierced ears. That was quickly remedied - after all, I had earrings and I wanted to wear them.
Fast forward around six years. I was now the youth pastor at Granite Falls Lutheran when I found this verse:
"But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever." Exodus 21:5-6 (ESV)
And I thought, "Wow, that's what I want to be - God's forever" so I added another hole to my ear as a sign of my commitment to God.
It was 1987 when I got my ear pierced again - it's only been the left one after the first time. I was getting married to Sam and as a sign of my commitment to him, I added another hole.
Twenty-five years later I found myself explaining this all to my daughter who said, "Mom, can I get my ear double-pierced as a sign of my commitment to God?" and I said, "Of course." And then she said, "Do you want to get yours pierced again?" And I thought, "Yes." Only this time, it would not be a commitment, but a reminder.
You see, just before my eighteenth birthday, I was told that I would have at most twelve years of a normal healthy life left. But I knew even then that I served a Mighty God and His plans were not necessarily the doctor's plans. Today Micah and I went to Claire's and got our ears pierced because, friends, I am happy to say,
I'm (almost!) 55 and still alive!
My reminder hurts just a bit, but I am reminded - to God be the glory!
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