Drawing Closer...

I've heard that in biblical times, if a lamb wandered away from the flock, the shepherd searched everywhere to find it. When the lost lamb was found, the shepherd broke one of the lamb's legs and then carried the wounded lamb on his shoulders until the leg was healed. The lamb would develop such a close relationship with the shepherd, that when given it was healed, it would never again wander from the one who had cared for it so tenderly.

In the last several months, I have discovered that I have drawn closest to the Savior when I was hurting the most. He has never failed me. The scripture, "Come unto Me and I will give you rest," has kept me going so many times when I just wanted to quit. I've always thought that I was a misfit, the extra piece of jigsaw puzzle. I was a person seeking God's good things in wrong ways. I was broken by my own failure and thought that this failure put me beyond the reach of God's grace.

In 1 of John Ortberg's books, he described human beings as rag dolls, flawed and wounded, broken and bent. BUT God loves us anyway. We maybe unlovely yet we are not unloved. There is such a love, a love that creates value in what is loved. There is a love that turns rag dolls into priceless treasures. This is the love of God.

I thank God that He put some special people in my path, people who lifted me up and encouraged me with their love and prayers. I have come to believe that our steps are truly ordered - each and every one. My job is to seek out and walk in the steps He has planned for me.

I'm still not perfect yet, I still make mistakes and I still get into troubles. But God is with me, we can work it out together.

"If you sometimes feel like one of those lambs with a broken leg, just know that if you ask, the Savior will pick you up, hold you tightly, and carry you until you can stand again."

If I'm going to receive help from the Lord of second chance, I too will have to acknowledge the truth about my condition.