God's Love is Why I Share!

I was asked why I share so much about my life.  Well, that isn't exactly a question that has a simple answer.  I've always been a pretty open person, though my avenue and way of sharing has definitely changed.  I don't like to hide who I am, nor do I feel I should.  By sharing all of the good, bad and ugly of my life, and then sharing the lessons I've learned from it all, I feel is part of what I've been called to do.

I am a firm believer that God calls us all to use our experiences and circumstances to help other who may face the same, or similar, in their lives.  I don't think that my past is going to go to waste because it can be shared to show others the dangers of those choices.  It can also be used to show just how amazing God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness truly is!  Why wouldn't I want to share that with the world?

I know at least a few people that believe I should stay quiet about my past.  They think I should fear the way people will think of me when they know things I've done or gone through.  But really, I just don't.  I used to.  I used to worry that if I shared my past with a Christian that I would be condemned by them because of my choices.  I feared that I would never have friends that were truly followers of Christ because they wouldn't understand my history or who I am now.  I honestly thought that the kind of people I needed as influence in my life were completely out of my league.  But what I have found is that any true follower of Christ won't judge my past, and they won't think any less of me because of my less than perfect history.  Because more often than not, they have a less than perfect history too.

I've found that my sharing has led me to some of the greatest women God has ever put in my life.  Through my honesty and openness, I've really formed bonds with the kind women that I only ever imagined having friendships with.  I've formed relationships with true Christ followers who accept me and my past, and encourage my future!  And, my past doesn't matter.  Even to those who haven't ever been through anything like I have, it just doesn't matter.  Why?  Because like Christ, they have love and acceptance of others!

But the biggest and most important reason for me to share is answered by a message I received from someone that read my story and has followed my blog ever since.  I am not sure how she was first introduced to my blog, and I do not ask a lot of questions.  She is someone I can tell just by her writing that she truly struggles with some demons that are similar to my own.  But her message was so encouraging and eye opening that I will never stop sharing my experiences.

A short portion of her email read:  "you have been such a good influence on me. i have finally opened up to someone i trust about things that happened to me. it was so hard but i am so glad i did it. if it wasn't for reading your blogs and seeing how honest you are, i may have never told anyone. and now i feel like i can take more control to keep making changes, because my life is really hard right now"

There was so much more said than that, but that was enough to encourage me to keep going!  I know that my story won't change anyone's life over night, but even that small change in someone's life is a huge victory!  I am so blessed to have my story to share, even if it is ugly in a lot of parts.  I am blessed to have a loving Savior that forgave me and continues to love me no matter what.  I am blessed to have people who support me, accept me, and love me through all of my brokenness!  And I want to share my blessings with the world!  

That, my friends, is why I share the ugliness of my life!  But look past that and see the beauty that is being created now!  Because God is AMAZING!