Into the Light

I have commented a lot lately about being so incredibly thankful to be “used by God.”  You see, I can remember very clearly a time when I did not know God, could not hear Him, let alone was used by Him.


I can remember all too vividly what it feels like to be in the dark.  Which makes me extremely grateful to be living in the Light!

I do not write this for my own glory or to focus on my own accomplishments, but to show what Christ has done in me.  In the hopes that it will resonate with someone who needs it…more specifically with someone who needs to know our Savior.


I grew up in North Mississippi attending church very regularly.  I have great memories from church – VBS, youth trips, church socials, sweet loving men and women who invested in me.  I enjoyed church.  It became a place of comfort and consistency.  Even in high school and college, when I did not have a relationship with Christ, I missed church when I did not go.  But really, that was all that it was – a familiar place that represented home and memories and consistency.


I responded a couple times to my pastor or youth minister’s call for salvation. I responded with my head.  My friends were making decisions to give their hearts to Christ, so I thought I should probably do the same.  In my case, it was never motivated by conviction or the realization of my need for a Savior.  It was more out of duty  – I knew it was something I should do.  So as you can imagine, there was never any growth, no peace, and no fruit that naturally comes from giving your life over to Christ.


Another sign that I was not a follower of Christ was the absence of conviction. I attended church regularly.  I participated in Sunday School, sat through sermons, and sang the praise songs along with everyone else.  But when I was not in church, I was participating in activities that were not representative of a follower of Christ.  Was I a “bad” teenager by the world’s standards? Not terribly.  Did I do things I shouldn’t have?  Definitely.


I drank on the weekends with my friends in high school.  When I got to college, it became more frequent.  I looked forward to the weekends when we would just hang out, drink and see what we could get into.  After high school, I engaged physically in relationships with guys that were not respectful of my future husband. And I had very little conviction that doing these things, although I knew what the bible said about them, was wrong. Or that I was wrong for doing them.  I could comfortably attend a church service and leave and continue doing what I was doing.   I felt no need for repentance.


I sought out acceptance and love in these forms, because I did not understand the awesome love that God was so willingly offered me.  I love my earthly father, and we have a loving relationship today, but at the time, we didn’t have the type of relationship that made me feel secure and loved unconditionally.   It really wasn’t until I met Matt and we were married that I could even begin to fathom the kind of love that God offered.  Matt truly models the love that Ephesians talks about.

If you are reading this, and you have not given your sins and your life to Christ, please don’t wait any longer.  Come into the Light with me.  Nothing the world has to offer can trump the peace and hope that I have as a follower of Christ.  Romans 10:9-10 makes it very clear cut and simple.  Profess and believe…and you will be saved!