An Exciting Conclusion

During worship this past Sunday, the "theme," shall we say, turned to salvation and the salvation stories of those willing to share them. One was from someone who I've never heard speak in front of our church, and what a privilege to have heard the account of his transformation! Another was so simple, so basic, but taught a valuable lesson. If you have a "rescue story" it's probably unlike any other, but we've all come to the same conclusion: we were in bondage to sin and destined to reap the consequences; someone told us (maybe more than once) how God had made a way, through Jesus, to turn us around and spare us from the road we were on; by God's grace, our eyes were opened and we have taken Him at His word ever since. 

So, how did I get here? Well, it all started with my parents' affair. My dad was married, not to my mother, and I was the product of that sin. I start with that, not because I'm looking to dish dirt, but because it shows the hand of God in my life even before I was born. He didn't stop the sin; He didn't stop the pregnancy. God took that sin and He made me. My mother had options. My dad had options. But God put them together to raise my brother and me. It was no fairytale love story, mind you, their marriage was pretty awful, but God had a plan. My dad grew up learning about God; I don't think he knew any differently, so we didn't either. Church every Sunday, Christian school, grace at meals, and prayers before bed. It wasn't a Christian home -- more religious than anything, but God had a plan. My dad was also abusive. He pummeled my brother, belittled my mother, and stole from me. My mother defended him. God never prevented their sin but, He was there, working His plan.

When I got older, I turned my back on it all -- religion, my family, those hypocritical "church people" (who I also blamed for never coming to our defense). Living the "Christian life" hadn't worked out so well for me, all of those altar calls and "I Surrender All" moments hadn't changed my world a bit, and I opted to do things my way. I met a great guy and burnt our marriage to the ground. By the time I had proof my second husband was cheating on me, I had two children. In March of 1995, I was out of answers and asked God to take it all. By April, I'd taken it back again, but something was definitely different; the Hound of Heaven was coming for what was His. I was going to church and taking notes. I was trying to read the Bible and understand it. I was associating with people who were teaching me God's truth and listening to pastors on the radio. I was fumbling and inconsistent, but not quite ten years later I was His. Divorcing again, struggling to pay bills and lawyers, raising two children, working the night shift, trying to be there for my mother (now alone), but completely at peace. I felt God's everlasting love. I began to know His grace. I realized many of the ways He'd preserved me. I saw what could have been and what could have destroyed me versus what was and how He had preserved me. I saw portions of His plan, the "why" behind some of the things that had to be. And I continue to see those things today. 

I got here not because of the perfections of others, or because I did so well on my own; I got here because of the perfect grace of an infinitely loving God who mercifully brought me to a conclusion: I was in bondage to sin and destined to reap the consequences; someone told me, more than once, how God had made a way, through Jesus, to turn me around and spare me from the road I was on; by God's grace, my eyes were opened and I have taken Him at His word ever since. Praise God for His infinite mercy and grace!