take it to God

Many times people have commented on how different each of my daughters looks from one another. In the past, I felt embarrassed, shame and even guilt as I began to answer, “they have different dads.” I even anticipated the look of judgement on their faces as I would think:  “Yep, they are totally thinking I am that girl who seeks after men for pleasure.”

A lot of times people are oblivious to our personal history so when they hear someone has 3 kids by 3 different men it is easy to pass judgement. However I’ve discovered something; and it doesn’t allow me to feel embarrassed, shame or guilt like I did.

As I stroll along my walk with Christ, walking slow, then jogging, walking up hill, then down I found that God has always been consistent. He has never changed His love for me. I didn’t really understand the meaning of grace until digging into some “I am” statements my sweet mentor provided me with as I search for my identity in Christ.

Being a child of God, the first identity listed for me to research gave me a better understanding of the grace God offers us. God even made sure my pastor and the current bible study I am reading would flag my attention to what He offers me through my relationship with Christ.

Christ laid His life down on the cross to pay for my embarrassment, my shame, my guilt, and my sin. This was something I never deserved however because God loves me, loves us so much, He offers us grace. The best thing is that grace is something that can never be taken away because we never deserved it in the first place.

I think of it like a gold medal being won at the Olympics.  You need to do something outstanding to deserve the gold medal. You need to be in first place.  But God doesn’t want us to be in first place He just wants us to seek out Jesus, have a relationship with Him and in this we discover his grace. We are a willing participant and in reality we are given the gold medal of all gold medals…. our salvation.

And, so last Sunday when the comment about how different each of my children look from one another was made I didn’t flinch with embarrassment, shame, or even guilt like I would in the past because that’s been taken from me. My savior bore that on the cross for me when I repented and brought that darkness to light.

“It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5:12-14

Is there anything that has you feeling embarrassment, shame, or guilt or any other emotion I have not mentioned? If so I encourage you to bring it to light. Take it to God.

Trust me, He will take it.

Lindsey Montejo is a stay at home wife, mother and newer follower of Christ. The desire has been placed in her to share her experiences of her growing relationship with God and to let others know that His love is unconditional. You can email her @ quitesimplyLindsey@gmail.com