I’ve long tossed the idea of writing a blog around in my head. I love to write, and often thought that a blog would be a good platform to share my ideas and beliefs with others. Like most other ideas I come up with, however, there was always some excuse.  I’m too busy. What would I write about? How would I find time to market my blog? It’s too much work. Then there was always the dreaded, “What will others think of me? What if they don’t like me?” Being a lifelong introvert, it has always been difficult for me to strike up new conversations with strangers. The idea of sharing personal stories or views with others was always out of the question.

So what has changed? Why the sudden push to finally take that leap of faith? I’m going to take you back to the beginning of my faith journey.

Born into the Christian faith, I was baptized and brought up in a small Lutheran church in the heart of the midwest. My parents were (and still are) very active members of my church, and we rarely missed a Sunday. I went to Sunday School every week. I knew all the Bible stories. I knew how much Jesus loved me. As I grew into a teenager, I remained active in my faith. I regularly attended youth groups and church functions, and one of my favorite times every year was attending the annual summer camp a few hours from my home. I had many fond memories of all these times.

As I reached early adulthood, however, I faced many trials, and my faith began to waiver. I never lost my faith or belief in God fully, but I followed a path that led me astray. Instead of seeking God’s love and forgiveness, I began to seek the love and attention of others, in a negative way. You see, I thought that my happiness rested in what others thought of me. Instead of judging my worth through God’s eyes, I sought the approval of people. Unfortunately for me, I often chose the wrong people. I made decisions that would ultimately hurt myself and my loved ones. And for what? To earn the so-called “love” of people who only wanted to use me and toss me out with the garbage when they were through with me. I won’t get into the details now, but these were dark times in my life. I had never felt so alone.

Fast forward a few years to my mid-twenties. I thought I was getting my life back on track. I went back to college and earned my degree in music education.  All I had ever wanted in my life was to grow up, have a career, get married and have a family. I met who I thought was the perfect man. He came from a good family, and I thought I couldn’t go wrong. I was so blinded by my own desires that I failed to see the warning signs in our relationship. After many years of struggling and heartache we ultimately grew apart, and he left me for another woman. Although it left me bitter and jaded at the time, it ultimately proved to be the best thing to happen to me.

During this time in my life, I was still active in the church. I held my first church job as a music minister for two years, and then returned to my home church to begin my service as the resident organist. Although I was active in the church and attended weekly services, I still felt a gaping hole in my faith. I knew of God’s love and forgiveness. Lord knows how many times I had needed it during my life. Despite this, I still felt empty. I didn’t know my purpose. I prayed many times for God’s guidance during this time, and He finally delivered.

In early 2012, I finally found that purpose, quite literally by chance. This is when I met my now husband while enjoying a night out with friends. The way we meshed with each other was unlike anything I had ever experienced to this point of my life. I knew, we knew, from the very beginning that this was meant to be. It didn’t take long to discover that this was who I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Of course, like everything, our relationship wasn’t perfect. We had plenty of challenges in the beginning. Through it all, he showed me what a true relationship should look like. Plenty of forgiveness. Lots of compromise. An abundance of love, and foremost, letting God take control.

Fast forward one more time to the present. A few months ago I was driving in my car listening to my favorite Christian radio station. A segment came on that was speaking of God’s great forgiveness and grace towards us. The speaker went on to explain about how sometimes we get overwhelmed by our sins. We feel like God could never forgive us for all the wrong we have done. Why should He? But think of Judas. Jesus knew at the Last Supper that Judas was going to betray him. He would hand Jesus over to be crucified. But despite all of that knowledge, Jesus still proceeded to wash all the disciples’ feet, including Judas. Jesus CHOSE to be a servant to us all. If Jesus could forgive Judas, the man who would hand the Son of God over to be crucified, how could He not forgive us also? No sin is too big for God to forgive. All we must do is believe and have faith.

This message was so powerful to me that it brought me to tears. They were right. Jesus came to Earth to die and save us all from sin. There is nothing He cannot and will not do for us. It made me think of one of my favorite passages of scripture.

Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…”

It is this passage that is the basis of my blog, Saved by Grace. It is this passage and this moment in my life that gave me that final nudge, the push I needed to finally commit to writing this blog. This message is so powerful. How could I keep this to myself? How could I not share this message with others?

My daughter is almost 10 years old now. As a homeschool mom, I have the privilege and honor of instilling in her a deep love and understanding of God. I try hard to make sure she knows about the love and forgiveness of God. I also try to set the right example. I have always made sure she has known that no matter what she does, Mommy and Daddy will always forgive her. I never want her to feel too ashamed to tell us something, or too afraid to come to us. In this same way, I hope to be an example to others. If I can just reach one person with the message of Jesus’ love and forgiveness, I would feel that my work is complete. Hopefully, I can reach many more!

In my future blogs, I hope to share more personal stories and events with you as my readers. Some may be happy, some sad, some funny and some serious. My goal is that from these you can find a closer relationship to God. I hope to also be an inspiration to all that no matter how messed up your life may seem, how low you feel, there is always hope. God is never done with you. If you seek, you will find.

One last note. After I had finished writing the first draft of this blog, I had the strangest thing happen. Someone I have known for a few years now sent me a message. They were seeking forgiveness for the way they had treated me several years prior when we had first met. They felt as though they had hurt me, and it was weighing on their heart. Of course there was no hesitation on my part to offer them grace. How can I withhold grace when I have been given it so freely! This is what it is all about…the receiving and giving of grace! What an amazing God we have!

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments or stories of your own. I am happy to listen and/or offer advice or encouragement for whatever you are going through. You can follow my Facebook page here ⬇️

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