05.27.10 - Family Focus - The Zeulners part 2
Jenn Zeulner (Grace High School pastor Ryan Zeulner's wife) had a life changing experience 10 years ago and she has shared her incredible story with us.
"As a 20 year old I was looking for something more than just the average college lifestyle. I had a desire to serve the Lord and experience an adventure. So on a whim I decided to drop everything one summer and serve God in order to find some meaning and purpose in my life. With only a 2 week notice, I left Orange County to go and serve at a Young Life camp in Colorado.
The first week there I stood up and told everyone, “I don’t know why I’m here, but I know we are all here for a reason.”
I expected God to move.
A week later, while cleaning a drain, a bottle of drain opener exploded in my face causing the sulfuric acid to create 2nd and 3rd degree burns to my eyes, face, neck and arm.
Immediately I was transformed.
The acid disolved my skin and clothing. In an instant, everything I found security in vanished including my physical appearance and eyesight. Hours away from home, my life took a very unexpected turn.
I was rushed to Porter Hospital where I spent 7 days in the intensive care unit, then trasported to LA to the Grossman Burn Center for 23 days. While in extreme pain the first three days also brought an inability to see. On the outside, the situation appeared to be hopeless. But inwardly God was doing a miricle!
My parents flew out to be by my side. I knew all the while that I had gotten an answer to Gods bigger picture for my life. My heart was forever changed. Through this trial I fell hard at Gods feet. The nurses found my mom and I in the intensive care unit singing my favorite worship song “open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see you”. In my darkest hour I saw God moving and it was there I chose to embrace the love that he had for me. In that moment, I chose joy. Everything else had been stripped away. It was during this time that God truly captured my heart and showed me what true beauty and value is all about. I give God all the glory for what he did drew me closer to Him. Jesus had come to restore, renew and capture me as his own!
There are days when I long to go back to the clarity of my hospital bed where God’s love was so tangible. With over 30 reconstructive surgeries God has healed all things both inside and out, meanwhile I have found purpose in exposing young women and burn survivors to true beauty; the beauty of a relationship with Jesus Christ."
By Jennifer Zeulner
