My mother has impacted me in many significant ways. Her greatest impact on my life is how she loves her family. She honestly sounds much like Mrs. Ginny was. My mom loves through service predominately. She is not always the most affectionate or vocal about her feelings, but you always knew she loved you by the way she took care of you. She is the epitome of Philippians 2:3-4(NKJV), “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Now as an adult, I can reflect back on my childhood with so much appreciation and thankfulness for just how much she served her family and mostly in ways that would never be seen or acknowledged. She never asked for recognition or validation for her efforts. She served purely out of the love in her heart for her family and her Lord. I feel very spoiled that I was able to grow up so consumed by love from such a selfless person. She never stops finding ways to take care of us. Even though I am grown and out of the house, she continues to find ways to bless me. She will randomly drop off groceries, buy me things she knows I don't have the money for, or bring me leftovers at work because she somehow knew by the tone in my voice that I had a rough morning. I always wondered if there was anything that I could do to make her run out of love, because surely everyone has their limits and no one could so wholeheartedly take care of another person so consistently. But she never gave up on me, no matter how difficult of a teenager I was or how independent I think I need to be as an adult. Her love for me never ran out, for which I am eternally blessed because of and am in no way deserving of. In truth, my mother is the purest form of Christ love that I have ever experienced on this earth. I don’t believe anything will compare to that fierce love and affection other than from Jesus Himself. I hope to be half of the mother and woman that my mom is and half of the woman of faith that she is. A mother’s love is the most authentic example of Christ’s love for His children. Love of which we are so undeserving but so in need of. I am a better person because of my mother’s love and because of the love of my Jesus that remains an constant driving force inside of her. Thank you for helping me remember just how blessed I am and how wonderfully special my mom is. I hope to not need a essay prompt in the future to be reminded of the precious treasure Ive been given.

The book that has had the greatest impact on my life is Francine Rivers book Redeeming Love. This is a book set in the gold rush era and the story is focused on the redemption of a young lady who was forced into prostitution as a child and how a passionate farmer played a hand in showing her the extent of her worth and value. This story is inspired by the Biblical book of Hosea and the central theme running through both stories is redemption from all sins and that love can cover a multitude of transgressions. The deep emotional journey that is explored through reading this book will unearth the readers own insecurities and feelings of unworthiness. The sweet redemptive truth of the main characters journey will sooth the readers wounds and break down lies of shame that holds captive. Throughout the story the farmer continues to take his love back from prostitution. She believes she deserves her life of forced prostitution and that she is too damaged, but the farmer will love her through her feelings of shame and filth. He showed her that someone who has been used and abused by the world still has immeasurable value. Human value comes from who you are as a person and not what has happened to you. This book undid many lies I had believed about my own worth and value. I ended the story with eyes full of tears and a heart beginning to heal from years of self inflicted shame. I re-read this story once a year to remind myself of the truth of redemption.

A choice I made this year to make a impact was to donate something that they desperately needed. I was briefly acquainted with a lady in my church who was suffering from a genetic kidney disease. She had been on dialysis for months and was patiently waiting on the national kidney donation list for a match. I felt in my heart if I could help her, I needed to do it. I am a single woman, in good shape and have a flexible job schedule. I was the ideal candidate for kidney donation. I decided to start the extensive testing process to see if I was a match. Throughout testing we found that I was not a match but that I still qualified for a kidney exchange program. I would still get to donate on her behalf. To which I immediately said yes to. I was put on the registry and within two week a match was found for both of us. In September I underwent surgery to give a body part and in return my acquaintance received her much needed kidney. This process which normally takes a year or more, for me was less than six months. I found out later, my decision to donate was the catalyst to start a bigger donation chain. We were apart of an eight person exchange! Four donors gave and four recipients got their healthy kidney. I knew at that moment, I was meant to do this; that this would be part of my story and hopefully through my act of donating, the spark would ignite in others around me to do the same. The hope and deep relief I saw in her eyes was the most fulfilling feeling and one that I will treasure for the rest of my life! This is the kind of impact I want my life to have. Although I am unable to donate again, I would love to do more altruistic things that have the same immeasurable blessing for another person. I am currently majoring in social work and Psychology for crisis counseling. I believe through having theses degrees that I can ultimately do the greatest good for the most people. I want to be a change agent and a advocate for the value of human life. I haven't narrowed which area specifically I want to serve in, but I desire to choose the facet of social work that I can do the most good for the most people.