remembering....

{This was copied by permission from a friend... He captured well the essence of Misty's spirit-reminding me of what MY goal should be. She was a friend. Today marks 13 years since this crash that claimed 2 lives and injured 3 others, and I pray these thoughts are an encouragement to someone--to keep on... or to get back on the right path!}

 ~~~~~

According to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it by by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. [Philippians 1:20]

I met her for the first time at 7:00 a.m. on the back porch of the college bookstore. I found it a great place to go before class each morning to read and pray, watching the sun rise over the East Tennessee hills. 

Misty had come to the same conclusion apparently, as I turned the corner and saw her sitting there watching the sun rise. "I was just leaving," she said as she rose to go. 

"Take your time," I replied. 

As the months passed, I came to know her well. She was somehow different than many of my other college friends. There was something about her that glowed inwardly. I came to  realize that Misty Carrier had a walk with the Lord Jesus Christ unmatched by anyone her age I had ever met before. 

She was just 21 years old. I know personally that she spend hours in prayer and personal Bible study each week, in spite of a heavy class load. She was a soul-winner and had and inner passion that set her soul afire for the lost. 

I often wondered what great work God had in store for her life. Her parents were missionaries in Papua New Guinea, and she spoke often of their work there. The conversations we had were not the normal chitchat of college friends but were deeper and more thoughtful. She spoke with a passion of wanting to be such an instrument of Christ so as to be controlled each moment of every day by His divine hand. 

Her life verse is given above, and it was her guiding light. She wanted to magnify Christ, no matter what that meant. She had few close friends, but none so close as her precious Savior, for whom she longed to be ever closer. She would pray, “Lord, if you can use my life to save some soul today, take it. I just want to be close to you.” 

In September of 1999, the Lord took her up on her offer.

Just a few hundred yards from her dormitory, she was pulling her car onto the road one evening and was struck by a drunk driver. 

He walked away. 

She did not. 

Standing over her casket at the funeral, her grandfather she loved so dearly, announced with tear filled eyes that he had finally accepted Christ as Savior. 

The cost? Misty’s life. 

Though we may ponder the value of the trade, Misty did not.

Though we may question the judgement of the Lord, she saw only the outcome: Christ shall be magnified.

In James 4:14, the Bible asks this question, “What is your life?” 

For Misty Carrier, the answer was simple. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

I received these words in an email about 10 years ago. They struck me, and I contemplated them. 

After printing it, the page stayed in my Bible for years, along with a hand-penned note from my dad... about how he was proud of me. 

After a while, neither was safe where little hands could reach {since they routinely fell out of the pages :)}... so they are both tucked away, safely. But I read them often. 

Their words inspire me to live so that 

1. others will remember Jesus when I'm gone... 

2. those who have invested in my life will be proud to have done so.