I wrote about my I Am Second bracelet that I purchased and the 1st experience I had sharing with someone about it here. I have had some small experiences, some people who will say "I love your I Am Second bracelet" or "I love what they are about". This week, I had another big experience.
I was working at a clients office, meeting with a representative of an IPA that does their Credentialing & Contracting Services. We have had issues for several months and though I have spent gobs of time trying to get them to resolve the problems, they have been very inept at it. I asked for an onsite meeting.
We had been talking for a good 30 minutes or so and during an interval between topics, Kristine stopped me and asked me what the message was on my bracelet. I wear it with the message pointed at me. Many of these types of bands, most people wear with the message pointed out towards the fingers so the other person can read it. I wear it on my left hand with the wording directly towards me so that I can read it.
Not knowing where the conversation would go, I kept it simple. "It say's I Am Second." She said "What is that? I have never heard of it." I took a deep breath, not wanting to get all "churchy" on her, I smiled and said, "In a nutshell it is the message that God is First in my life and I am Second. They have a website with lots of testimonials at www.IAmSecond.com." She immediately said, "That is cool". Nothing more about it. So I said "Yes, it is." and said nothing more.
As things worked, the next day I got an email from IAmSecond. I forwarded it to my business email account. I then sent it to her with a simple message:
Kristine,
Here is my email today from I Am Second. Check them out at www.iamsecond.com. Let me know what you think!
Guess what? I got a response from her today:
Misty, thank you. So thoughtful of you to send this to me. I’m sure you know how rare it is to share faith with people in today’s world and in the work place in general. I know I already have more blessings then I deserve. Heaven to ground me and a family that always calls me home. At the end of the day, I just pray every day I have a life that’s good. It was a blessing to meet you. GOD’s speed. Everything else is just stuff…..Thanks again, Kris
Is she a believer? Does she love God? Does she have a relationship with him? People speak of God and blessings yet may not really understand either. I don't have to figure out if she is or isn't. My journey is to share the gospel, to encourage, to plant seeds. It is little seeds that get sown that matter. Seeds of God's Love. Seeds of his forgiveness. Seeds of his grace. Seeds of what he has done for us by redeeming us. Seeds of kindness. Seeds of faith.
My I Am Second bracelet is allowing me to do just that...share the gospel, encourage, plant seeds. I am blown away at the ways God works and the people he brings on my journey. I pray that I am a reflection and continue to pursue a life of living I Am Second.
I bought an I Am Second bracelet at The Celebrate Freedom Concert in June. I had wanted one and didn't want to pay shipping, so this afforded me the option to not have that expense.
I have previously never purchased any of those "plastic cheap looking" bracelets that are massively produced with a message and worn as a fad by people for a time, first because my Mom would never let me, two because I hate fads, three because I like to wear classy stuff and wasn't into cheap looking stuff.
When I bought this I Am Second bracelet I didn't anticipate wearing it with my other jewelry.
Things change. I am. I was given this beautiful cross bracelet from one of my girlfriends as a "thinking of you" gift and it is awesome to pair it with this I Am Second bracelet!!!
I am not sure when I went to wearing it everyday, with my other jewelry too...but sometime in the weeks that followed I did. I even wear it to bed at night. The only time I take it off is when I shower, and technically I wouldn't have to do that either, it's plastic, nothing will hurt it except maybe the stove or oven.
To look down at my wrist and see the message, a simple clear message to my heart and mind, is one that I love! The reminder is always amazing. It brings focus quickly to life, to challenges, to who is Number One! and need I say, if not, who should be.
I never dreamed of the opportunities that would come from wearing this bracelet. Tonight, I had my first. I was checking out at a local drug store after picking up some cold medicine to get rid of this stuffy head cold that is consuming my every thinking waking moment right now. The clerk checking me out saw my bracelet. She got all excited. "You have an I Am Second bracelet??? I do too!!!" She brought her hand up, but her bracelet was inside out, you could not see the message. I couldn't help myself, before I thought what I was saying, I said: "Girlfriend, why are you not wearing it with the message displayed?" I instantly kicked myself. She sort of winced at what I said and then said "It wasn't intentional." I believed her. Even if what she said isn't true, and she said it out of my condemning question, why would I think that hiding the message with the statement pointed directly to her wrist might not be just what she needed? A silent reminder. Something that people don't question her about? Something that made her feel connected with God? Why did I open my big mouth? Why didn't I just rejoice with her that we both had I Am Second bracelets? When will I learn to not judge? To not assume? To encourage, all the time, in all ways?
I asked her how she learned of I Am Second. This was all that was needed and she quietly, a bit reserved, shared with me her story. She has tried to quit drugs and alcohol. She would make promises and go back on them. She finally realized that she could not do this without God. She became clean April 1st of this year. She is going to a church in Fort Worth who introduced her to I Am Second. She is a fan of them and loves their mission. I gave her my business card and told her that if she ever needed someone to pray with her or wanted to go to lunch, to call me. She asked if she could give me her number. I said absolutely!
I would share with you her name to ask you to pray for her, but in the event that you might run into her or that she might not want her story known in our small town with a handful of drug stores, I want to respect her privacy. Pray for my new friend! Pray that she can continue in growing in her relationship with Jesus. That she can learn to make him first in everything. That her bracelet will be the beginning of even deeper things. Let her meet more friends who will encourage her on her journey to serve God.
This was my very my first testimony experience from wearing the I Am Second bracelet...I am amazed at the small changes in my life that have brought opportunities I never had like this before. Yes, I talked to people about God, I shared "why" I was a Christian, but did they see the Christian spirit in me without me saying a word, without looking religious??? There is a big difference, their excitement, the way they share their faith right back with me, the way they ask questions and not because I look so different they can't help but wonder about me, but the love that comes out of me, that is what is different.
