Undramatic and baggaged life that I have.

An interesting take on "undramatic" testimonies: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/if-you-don-t-have-a-dramatic-testimony
This reminded me of how I hear many people start their testimonies off with "it's not anything dramatic or I was a typical church kid..." I am one of them and it was really refreshing to read how even though I don't have an extreme and dramatic testimony, I should be thanking God for His protection and grace during my younger years/childhood. 

"What I am saying is that I’m grateful God saved me when I was young. I’m grateful God spared me from some of the more blatant, outward sins. I’m grateful I don’t have to daily deal with the consequences of certain past sins. I’m grateful that my relationship with my wife isn’t marred by memories of past relationships. I’m grateful I don’t have to tell my kids about all the awful things I did before God saved me."

So yes, I should be grateful to God to have spared me from a lot of sorrow, grief and consequences that many brothers and sisters in Christ went through.

"Don’t be disappointed that you don’t have a gripping, over-the-top testimony. Don’t feel like you somehow missed out. Will you get to tell your story in front of large audiences? Probably not. But that’s a good thing. Be grateful that God spared you from the heart-breaking, soul-wrenching consequences of some sins. Be grateful that God saved you before you could wreck your life. Be grateful that you’re not carrying years of baggage around with you."

Nevertheless, even if you had a dramatic or undramatic testimony, I feel like everyone has a baggage they are carrying around. Maybe because I haven't met someone who was never hurt and always 100% happy...even I carry baggages around of my past that affects me from time to time. And this was something JH and I were talking about in the car today (technically yesterday). Many people (like myself) appear to be so cheerful, but sometimes on the inside, we can be pretty miserable or are going through some tough times. People on the outside may think, "Oh, you're always so happy and cheerful"...well yes, there is a reason why we still have a smile on our faces. Either that we don't want others to worry since we can (hopefully) handle it or have hope in Christ that what we're going through will be good. Of course, we are to always rejoice eh? (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) So this was a good read for me, allowing me to be more appreciative of my undramatic and baggaged life.