I Never Could Have Imagined
I never could have imagined it!
Not the day my father left us, not on the many times I was embarrassed because of our extreme poverty, not that night they forgot to pick me up at the airport, not on the months I was struggling to learn English in a hostile neighborhood, not when I saw a dead person on the street in the South Bronx, NY and was told, “That’s how it is here," not when eight of us were crammed living in a one-bedroom apartment in Hollywood, not when I had three jobs and took the bus for hours, not when I flunk college, not the many times he verbally abused me, not when I had an abortion and another one, not when I went through a divorce, and then again, another one, and not when I made a mess, had an affair, and broke people’s hearts.
No, I never could have imagined it. How could this be God’s plan? He called me to be a pastor? It’s impossible!
Most people, when they meet me today, assume the best of me. It’s nice. They think I’ve been a Christian all my life, a woman after God’s heart. They think I have it all together, always have. The wise one. The kind one. The faithful one. Wrong. If I have time, and they allow me, I make sure I say something that dispels their made-up reality. I am who I am today due to God’s mercy and grace. Were I not to share my story, God’s glory would be hidden in plain sight. , I cry out "AMEN," when Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, [she] is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”
Dear friends, new life is possible in Christ. If you have not put your trust in Him or are floundering with your faith, make a commitment today to follow Him wholeheartedly. He will take you on a wild adventure, with hardships and joys. But there is no better way to live.
When Jesus calls a person to follow him, he bids that person to come and LIVE.
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