Last year during my second year of university, I experienced a particularly challenging and joyful time in my relationship with the Lord because of a consistent, clear call he gave me to live a life of martyrdom. Over the course of several months, this call from the Lord was given to me repeatedly through different words, Scripture passages, and other people. God was not asking me to travel to the most dangerous place in the world to preach the gospel to cannibals; rather, he was asking me to live a life of complete surrender no matter the circumstances, no matter the cost. He was asking me to sacrifice everything I had – my time, my studies, my money, my relationships, my family, my strengths, my weaknesses – in order to seek him alone, and he was showing me that the call to martyrdom is not just for grown-ups. I was given this call even as a student. 

While I felt very challenged by this radical call God had placed on my life, I also felt overwhelmed by two things: first, the peace I had in forsaking other things, even good things, so as to claim Christ as my one prize; and second, the joy I had in saying “yes!” to a life of complete surrender. This call is one I know I will be striving after during my whole life, and although I fall down daily, God continues to pick me up and brush me off, reminding me not so much of my weakness but of his strength. 

In response to this call, I wrote the song You Are Mine, and this past summer, I had the opportunity to record it with some friends for the Detroit Summer Outreach Music CD Overwhelmed. Recording the song was a huge blessing to me, and I hope that it can inspire others, as it continues to inspire me, to live a life of single-hearted devotion to the Lord.

You Are Mine The life I live is not my own, For what I have I give to you. For you, O Lord, I claim as my prize. Holy, worthy, beautiful are you. You are mine, and I am yours. And though I cannot see you, I believe. You are mine.  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Holy, worthy,  You are mine.    Click here to listen to an mp3 audio clip of the song

Ellie attending a university art exhibit