Being a witness......What does it mean?

When I was a little girl, I was the scariest little thing there was. The one thing I enjoyed the most was reading; I would devour a book in a matter of hours and it really did not matter what it was. My mother and father indulged me in this love and would buy books like crazy. One of my most fondest memories was when we would go to the port and purchase books off a ship that came in every year. I truly did not know why this sparked so much interest for me other than the books but it was so much more. There are glimpses of memories of advertisements on t.v. about the peace corps also piqued my interest. To share these thoughts with anyone at that time would have been fruitless I guess because I never did and so nothing came out of thoughts many thoughts. However, I spent time learning about different places in the world and the history of the places. This love laid dormant for so many years and many things seemed to fill that space until; a spark was lit and a hunger so deep was born that it could not be contained.
It seemed like all the good, ugly and bad things I had experienced over the years culminated into something miraculous and was actually worthy of something. All of my combined experiences and memories had a life. You see, after I was rescued form the depths from the love and grace of Jesus Christ. I became this bold, assertive person and the interest and desire of those books, places and the peace corps all came together. The greatest gift other than my salvation has been the opportunity to study the scriptures; during this time my voice was strengthen and my path made straight. "I was to be a witness", what did that mean, what does it look like? That fearful little little girl surfaced again and struggled with the thoughts of who am I?  How could I do this? Who would listen? I realized that those thoughts had to be silenced in order to carry out the mission. The only way to silence them was to place them under subjection of the truth of God's word. The same truths that He wanted me to give those those hurting people in the world, that were dying just as I had been.
Being a witness to the truth of God's word is a hard one, one that many of your family and friends will not understand. It requires everything of you, to give up things that you hold dear, to take risks that seem really stupid and to believe in the impossibilities. The struggle of fear comes daily but thankfully He casts out all fear, "if we let Him". Being a witness of the magnitude of His glory has been the most fulfilling thing in my life and I would not change it. I remember being called a "holy joe" by those closest to me but I also remember when they understood and came to a saving knowledge of Christ for themselves. What a time?
We are to be His witness to the ends of the earth; this cannot be done on our couches, in front of our televisions, in our little christian bubbles of bible study- church-home and back again. We have to move beyond our comfort zone and touch a stranger. To seek the lost.
Love God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path; Listen He is speaking and telling you what He will have you do! I pray this encourages you to reach out and touch someone. Next I will share some real life pitfalls to being a witness!!