Hey all you faithful readers!
I’ve been told by our website administrator that the blog has been a pretty popular hangout, so I know that I can speak for Kelsey, Robert, and myself when I say thanks for supporting our writing! : )
I’d like to talk a little bit about our last performance, which was for the women at New Life for Girls in Dover, PA, their families, and the public. Our small groups were again given the wonderful opportunity to speak with a woman residing at New Life. It was purely by coincidence that Mary, the woman who had spoken to my small group last year, was again paired with me, but boy, did I sure go to sleep that night after having a glorious revelation.
Mary is a true woman of God–there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that. What threw me for a total 360 was that she was not in rehabilitation because she suffered from drug or alcohol abuse. She was not forced into rehab, kicking and screaming pleas of help, by a caring family who knew that she needed the help of the true professional: the Lord, Jesus Christ. Instead, she voluntarily entered the program.
Strangely, after Mary shared this crucial piece of information with our small group, my expectations of hearing a “really crazy story” were lowered. I figured things probably weren’t about to get dramatic, but I just smiled along, trying to grasp onto any bit of her story that I could attract readers with when I blogged about the show. Mary shared with us some stories of growing up in a Christian home, her father a minister, and her mother a firm believer in the salvation of Jesus Christ. Their daughter, however, began to move in a different direction. She moved out of the house and started a successful life of her own with a dream job and a multitude of friends. The amount of money she possessed determined her happiness. She did not develop an addiction to alcohol or begin using drugs. Instead, she simply woke up and decided that she was not happy with the life she was living. She needed more. She enrolled in New Life: the beginning of her new life. She graduated from the program a few months ago and is now working on their staff full-time, encouraging women with radically different stories, but with one common denominator; their lives were falling apart and they desperately needed a Savior.
Even after speaking to Mary and tearing down after our performance, I felt melancholy about the whole small group experience. I couldn’t help but wonder what God was trying to show me through Mary’s story. It wasn’t until later that night, as I was praying to God before I went to sleep, that I was humbled.
God was able to illustrate my need for Him in a unique way–in a way that I had never quite experienced Him before. It struck me that I didn’t need to be considered an alcoholic or a drug addict before I needed His forgiveness of my sins. No matter how hard I strive every day to be more like Him and live in His ways, the bottom line remains: I am a sinner who needs forgiveness. The woman in the audience who went to jail for theft does not bear a sin that is any heavier than mine, for Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All. I am not the exception, for there are no exceptions.
But, alas, there is hope, and His name is Jesus Christ. For He paid the price, as Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
I thank God for the blessing of Mary, for she has brought glory to her Father’s name.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Live on,
Katrina
