Dark Secrets and His Glorious Redemption
A child smoking marijuana by age 8. By age 12, she is a high school
drop out doing hard drugs who becomes a prostitute by age 14, trained
and ushered in by her own mother. By age 24, she was convicted of
killing two people - with a pickax. A young woman sentenced to live on
death row and die of lethal injection administered by the state of
Texas.
A young woman swallowed up by the pain of dysfunction and infidelity at home. Lost in a world of disordered eating, obsessive exercise, and self harm.
A teenage girl who lost her virginity to her boyfriend at 14 years old. Scarred by the heartache of broken intimate relationships and misplaced self worth, she is thrown into a world of eating disorders, heavy drinking and egregious sexual choices into her early 20s.
These are real life stories. A true story from a book I recently read. A friend's story. Stories of destruction and loss. Stories of unhealthy relationships and dysfunctional families. Stories that belong to someone you know - your mother, your best friend, or your spouse. Because everyone has a story.
Any one of the stories could be your story too. But perhaps your story has different details, ones that are painful even to tell. Maybe your story includes sexual abuse from early childhood. Maybe your story is one of physical violence at the hands of a parent, a boyfriend, or a stranger. Maybe your story is one of the abuser, going too far with "physical discipline" with your children. Maybe your story is one of forced abortion at the hands of a controlling boyfriend or an abortion that was your choice and your choice alone. Maybe your story is one of alcoholism, abuse, and multiple failed marriages. Maybe your story is one with details so awful and hurtful that I can't even begin to imagine the plot line. Maybe you're living a story so dark that you can't even imagine how you got into this horrific story anyway.
We all walk paths of hurt, destruction, pain and dysfunction. Some of it happens because of our own sinful choices, while some of it happens because of someone else's sinful choices. We all have a nature that is prone to sin, prone to missing the mark, prone to choose wrong and not right.
While one person's sin may be different from the next person's, we are all broken.
But our history is not our destiny. And the sins of our parents do not have to be our children's sins.
Because Jesus.
Each of the stories at the beginning doesn't end in the mess.
Because Jesus.
The pickax murderer from Texas met Jesus between the arrest for her crime and her conviction and sentencing. She confessed details of her crime with extreme remorse, and accepted the punishment that her horrific mistakes deserved. She died by lethal injection on February 3, 1998, after a 14 year imprisonment for her crimes. Before her death, she was a joyful example of the glorious redemption available in Christ to many women with sordid pasts inside - and outside - of the state prison system of Texas. Her name was Karla Faye Tucker, and details of her redemption in Christ can be found in the book, "Set Free" by Linda Strom.
The young woman in the middle of the disordered eating and self harm met Jesus in the last year. She knows that healing and wholeness can be found in Christ, even if she can't see it or feel it right now. She is choosing a path to seek His face and find herself in Him, and I couldn't be more proud of her and excited to see the glorious redemption that I know Christ will bring in her life.
The teenage girl met Jesus as a freshman in college. After a few rough years and a lot of healing at the hands of her Savior, she lives out her glorious redemption as a wife, mother and blogger for Deliberate Women. She is a wife to a wonderful, godly husband and a mother to two young children ages three and one. She has led bible studies, served in youth ministry, and partnered with the Pregnancy Resource Center of the South Hills to reach women in crisis. That girl is me.
No matter how far gone you think you are. No matter how dark the secrets are in your heart and life. No matter how ghastly the details of your story are. No matter what you have done or what has been done to you.
No matter what, Jesus will.
He will make you whole again. He will give you eternal life (John 3:16). He will give you the abundant life that He promised (John 10:10). He will give you direct access to the Father God. He will give you joy, despite your circumstances. He will give you His Spirit. He will give you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and more (Galatians 5:22). He will enable you to be called a friend of God. He will bring His glorious redemption about in your life.
So meet Jesus, just like we did.
Trust His sacrifice to cover your sin. Forgive those who have wronged you and forgive yourself, because God forgave you. Let Him be your healer. Read His word and talk to Him daily. Find a bible believing church and get into a bible study.
And let his glorious redemption shine in your life!
I want to hear your stories of Jesus' glorious redemption in your own life. Please share to encourage everyone!!
A young woman swallowed up by the pain of dysfunction and infidelity at home. Lost in a world of disordered eating, obsessive exercise, and self harm.
A teenage girl who lost her virginity to her boyfriend at 14 years old. Scarred by the heartache of broken intimate relationships and misplaced self worth, she is thrown into a world of eating disorders, heavy drinking and egregious sexual choices into her early 20s.
These are real life stories. A true story from a book I recently read. A friend's story. Stories of destruction and loss. Stories of unhealthy relationships and dysfunctional families. Stories that belong to someone you know - your mother, your best friend, or your spouse. Because everyone has a story.
Any one of the stories could be your story too. But perhaps your story has different details, ones that are painful even to tell. Maybe your story includes sexual abuse from early childhood. Maybe your story is one of physical violence at the hands of a parent, a boyfriend, or a stranger. Maybe your story is one of the abuser, going too far with "physical discipline" with your children. Maybe your story is one of forced abortion at the hands of a controlling boyfriend or an abortion that was your choice and your choice alone. Maybe your story is one of alcoholism, abuse, and multiple failed marriages. Maybe your story is one with details so awful and hurtful that I can't even begin to imagine the plot line. Maybe you're living a story so dark that you can't even imagine how you got into this horrific story anyway.
We all walk paths of hurt, destruction, pain and dysfunction. Some of it happens because of our own sinful choices, while some of it happens because of someone else's sinful choices. We all have a nature that is prone to sin, prone to missing the mark, prone to choose wrong and not right.
While one person's sin may be different from the next person's, we are all broken.
But our history is not our destiny. And the sins of our parents do not have to be our children's sins.
Because Jesus.
Each of the stories at the beginning doesn't end in the mess.
Because Jesus.
The pickax murderer from Texas met Jesus between the arrest for her crime and her conviction and sentencing. She confessed details of her crime with extreme remorse, and accepted the punishment that her horrific mistakes deserved. She died by lethal injection on February 3, 1998, after a 14 year imprisonment for her crimes. Before her death, she was a joyful example of the glorious redemption available in Christ to many women with sordid pasts inside - and outside - of the state prison system of Texas. Her name was Karla Faye Tucker, and details of her redemption in Christ can be found in the book, "Set Free" by Linda Strom.
The young woman in the middle of the disordered eating and self harm met Jesus in the last year. She knows that healing and wholeness can be found in Christ, even if she can't see it or feel it right now. She is choosing a path to seek His face and find herself in Him, and I couldn't be more proud of her and excited to see the glorious redemption that I know Christ will bring in her life.
The teenage girl met Jesus as a freshman in college. After a few rough years and a lot of healing at the hands of her Savior, she lives out her glorious redemption as a wife, mother and blogger for Deliberate Women. She is a wife to a wonderful, godly husband and a mother to two young children ages three and one. She has led bible studies, served in youth ministry, and partnered with the Pregnancy Resource Center of the South Hills to reach women in crisis. That girl is me.
No matter how far gone you think you are. No matter how dark the secrets are in your heart and life. No matter how ghastly the details of your story are. No matter what you have done or what has been done to you.
No matter what, Jesus will.
He will make you whole again. He will give you eternal life (John 3:16). He will give you the abundant life that He promised (John 10:10). He will give you direct access to the Father God. He will give you joy, despite your circumstances. He will give you His Spirit. He will give you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and more (Galatians 5:22). He will enable you to be called a friend of God. He will bring His glorious redemption about in your life.
So meet Jesus, just like we did.
Trust His sacrifice to cover your sin. Forgive those who have wronged you and forgive yourself, because God forgave you. Let Him be your healer. Read His word and talk to Him daily. Find a bible believing church and get into a bible study.
And let his glorious redemption shine in your life!
I want to hear your stories of Jesus' glorious redemption in your own life. Please share to encourage everyone!!
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