I got in our car as we readied ourselves for vacation. I was seventeen, newly graduated from high school. I don’t even remember how I did it, but I did. I had pierced my ear the night before and no one had noticed. Everyone else piled in and my brother tuned and looked at me. At the same time, I saw my dad’s eyes looking at me in the rear view mirror and my mom looking back over the front seat.

I was terrified at what their response might be. But these were moments I lived for. To be noticed, to be seen, not as the gifted child, the pretty child, the smart or the fun one. I accepted and relished the role of the different child. One of the greatest compliments I feel I’ve ever received was when someone told me I was an anomaly.

I say things and do things for shock value. I see God in that. He likes to be noticed too. He hates molds where we can dictate His response. He enjoys proving Himself to be not what we think but who and what He truly is.

He tells us to come “boldly before the throne…” because, dare I say it, He’s a bit of a show off.

You know what I say? I want to see God alive and we’ll in my life. I am afraid to talk about the God I serve because I am not sure He’s everything He says He is. That’s got to stop.

Where God is concerned, we need some shock and awe!