Luke Lang - I AM Standing Up. True Confessions of a Total Freak of Nature

DEDICATION

Heavenly Father, every day I experience more of your creativity, grace, and redeeming love. You are truly too wonderful for words. I pray that somehow you would be glorified in my simple story.

For Diana, who had the courage, faith, and humor to see beyond the surface. I love you!

Delanie, you are an amazing young lady. Im so proud of you, and Im honored to be your freaky little father.

Really BIG thanks to my family and friends for letting me share their stories as Ive shared mine.

Thank you to the fine folks at Youth Specialties and Zondervan. You are simply the coolest and most talented group of people on the planet. It has been a blast working with you. Thanks for getting it.

ZONDERVAN

I AM STANDING UP: True Confessions of a Total Freak of Nature

Copyright 2009 by Luke Lang

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition January 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-56961-9

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

ISBN 978-0-310-28325-6

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible,Todays New International Version. TNIV. Copyright 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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Cover design by SharpSeven Design

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

"They will see in our history
the faithful love of the lord."
(psalm 107:43, NLT)

the big intro: My Life...
a Real Short Story

Hi, my name is Luke, and I have a confessionto make. (You probably guessed fromthe cleverly worded subtitle.) Come a littlecloser. This isnt easy for me. My deep, verypersonal confession isbrace yourself; thisisnt prettyI am a total freak of nature. (Iknow you probablyfigured that out...againthat clever subtitle thing.)

Its true. I am a walking, talking, one-man freak show. Let me explain. For starters its a genetic thing. Im five feet, one inch tall. So Im basically the height of an average fifth grader, but Im also a chubby little dude, pretty much the width of an average sumo wrestler. Its an interesting combination. Also, as Ive gotten older, Ive lost most of my hair.

Are you getting the picture? Im basically everything physically undesirable about a man rolled up into one chunky little package. Im the GQ anti-cover boy. As if that werent enough, Im also blind in one eye, which means I dont have a whole lot of depth perception. This results in my bumping into things and falling down frequentlywhich is fun at parties but a pain in real life.

But waittheres more. Im freakishly uncoordinated, and I have an amazing gift for embarrassing myself by saying or doing stupid things. In school I was the classic underachiever. I never really applied myself, and my grades definitely reflected that.

As a result of all of this, my life has been a nonstop series of misadventures and mishapsmany of which youre about to read. All of these factors combined to make me a social, genetic freak. As I was growing up, I never liked myself. I hated what I looked like. I hated the undeniable fact that I was different than everyone else on the planet. I never fit into any group. I was left out and left behind. The few times I didnt feel invisible, I wished I was.

Then something happened that forever changed my life. I discovered my purpose and my passion. I never felt the acceptance and significance I craved until I came into a relationship with Jesus Christ. I realized God loves the freak, the geek, and the weak. Im extremely glad because Ive been all three. In time I came not only to accept who I am but also to celebrate it. I realized the Creator custom-designed me for the life I have. Ive been able to reach people and do things I wouldnt have been able to do if I was normal. God has most used the very things that make my life different.

A passage from the Bible gives my life some clarity. I also want to use these Scriptures as a bit of a backdrop for the stories that follow. The soundtrack for my life is 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, and it reads, Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and despised thingsand the things that are notto nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

If youve ever felt like a misfit, an outsider, an underachiever, a loser, or a freak, Ive got some comforting news for you. Youre not alone. If you read the Bible, youll find youre in pretty good company. The Scriptures are full of misfits and outcasts. Its one big flock of freaks.

But something has happened in the church during the last few decades. Weve become obsessed with image. Many Christians present this shiny, prefabricated facade that our lives are perfect. We try to act like once we become Christ followers, all our problems magically disappear. We appear to have perfect lives with perfect families. We have perfect teeth and perfect complexions. Everything is just...perfect.

Not only is this a big ugly lie, but it also keeps people from becoming Christians. Because most people cant even relate. They know they cant be perfect like they think we are. Why cant we just be honest?

The Bible is an amazingly honest book. Its stories include some seriously dysfunctional families and messed-up people, and these are the people God chose to use. God didnt have to include all of their weirdness in the Bible, but he did because it gives us hope. The truth is, most Christians have very imperfect lives. Stuff happens, and we can be pretty messed up. But weve fallen in love with Jesusand that makes all the difference in our lives.

I hope to single-handedly disband all the falsehoods of perfection by sharing some of the issues and events of my little life. I also hope my life gives you hope. My sincere prayer is that through the goofy little stories in this book, youll see the creativity and redeeming power of God.

Ive tried to give some kind of spiritual application with most of these stories, but some are included for the sole purpose of making you laugh and helping you feel a little better about your life. All of these stories are true, and they all point to the very real fact that God loves me even when I do stupid stuff. I want you to read this book and realize that the living and loving God custom-designed you, too. He did it on purpose, for a purpose. I know that might sound like a cheesy bumper sticker slogan, but its really the truth. I pray that no matter what stage of your life journey youre at, youll discover the truth about who God is and the truth about who you areand the truth will set you free.