Voided

“There is no life so shattered that it cannot be restored.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

This very quote resonates to my soul. A year ago I believed the exact opposite. I thought my biggest mess up voided the years I dedicated to youth ministry. That somehow God could only see this one thing and it discredited what God had for me even.

It was a late Sunday evening when I received a message on insta that solified that very thought process as a lie.

A young lady I watched grow up from a child through my youth group reached out. She expressed her obvious confession with the situation, on to extending forgiveness but ended with words that will forever echo in my heart. She shared a personal story with me that I didn’t realized made such an impact on her. A moment where God used me to simply pray and love on her that changed the very core of her heart. She thanked me for being her youth pastor and expressed how I made a difference in her life and in others even though I faced challenges no one knew about.

I sat back, tears rolling down my face, feeling so overwhelmed by God’s love and His grace. I spent the last year stripping myself of the things that I thought were voided. That some how all that time and sacrifice would somehow be voided. Allowing my choices to cast a shadow on all those years. That Sunday night one message cleared that all up.

Yes, I made choices that took my life in another direction but it didn’t void the years God used me and it certainly doesn’t disqualify me for what God has for me in the future. He is constantly redefining what ministry looks like for me.

So thank you young lady for allowing God to use you to heal the last part of my heart that needed healing. For being real, honest and loving. God knew I needed you.