"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

Jodie's Testimony

     It's only by His grace that I am what I am today.  I stand in awe and amazement when I think about the Lord and how He saved my very life and the life of my daughter so many years ago.  Still to this day, my heart swells with thankfulness as my eyes well up with tears when I recall all that Christ did for me, during that dismal season of my life.

     While running one evening as I did nearly every day, I was attacked, violated, and abandoned.  As I lay on the forest floor, everything I was and ever hoped to be vanished.  My body was numb and broken, my heart and dreams shattered. 
     Three months later, as I desperately tried to put the horror of that dreadful day behind me, I could not shake an illness.  Finally, I sought the advice of a doctor.  The diagnosis shook me to my very core.  “Young lady, you are pregnant,” the nurse happily declared.  Instantly, she saw the distress on my face. 

     Within days, I decided that abortion was acceptable in God’s eyes, since the pregnancy was the result of a rape. Surely, I thought, God would not condemn me for this decision.  I made an appointment at a clinic.  The night before the scheduled abortion, I heard a voice from behind me:  “Who are you to take my child?”  I had never heard a voice like this before, but I knew without hesitation that it was the voice of the Lord speaking to me.  He had my full attention!  I abruptly turned off the television, went to my room and cried uncontrollably.  God and I had a heart-to-heart that night, and my heavenly Father comforted me in ways I had never before experienced.

     While in my room that night, I was very honest with God.  I openly spoke with Him and declared, “Lord, if you don’t want me to abort this baby, then I need a job, insurance, a family, a home, and support.”  I literally made out a list for God; can you imagine that?  Sleep finally overtook my weary body, and I awoke for the first time in months to a bright new day.

     In the course of just days and weeks, my heavenly Father began to put a package together that blew my hair back.  He lined up a job for me at a hospital with full medical benefits -- including all weekends off so I could go to church.  He found me a sweet Christian family that took me in and allowed me to live with them until the birth of my baby.  And, He led me to a church that was everything I needed, a church that very quickly became the family and support group that I so desperately needed.

     My friend, God’s saving grace is always available.  His promise is bigger than your problem.  His ways are higher than your worries; He is able to lead you to the rock that is higher than your hurdle.  You are never too far from His arms.  He desires to take those broken pieces of your life -- those pieces that you no longer even recognize -- and turn them into a masterpiece.  He can take your mess and turn it into a message, just as He has done for me.

     You see, from the moment I turned my situation over entirely to Him, He showed Himself strong on my behalf.  He got my attention and He won my affection; He dazzled me and amazed me; He took my ashes and my rubble and gave me beauty; He rescued my soul and restored my life!  When everyone I once knew had abandoned me, He held my hand every step of the way -- what a loving Lord He is!


"Not only that, but ALL the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe--people and things, animals and atoms get properly FIXED and fit together in vibrant harmonies. ALL because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross." Colossians 1:20

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