Free Will...this tiny little gift that each and every one of us has been given. The freedom to choose what we want to do, which path to take...pretty much the ability to make any decision related to our life completely on our own. Sounds pretty amazing, don't you think? After all, it is OUR life, let's do what we want with it!

I find it ironic that "free will" is actually called such because in reality it gives us anything but freedom, especially when it leads us to behaviors that shape us in to something so far off from what God had made us to be. In the beginning, the choices we make apart from God may not seem like a big deal; they may not seem all that detrimental to our character. But before you know it, all of these small choices that are made day in and day out have developed into this huge burden to bear and we are left feeling lonely and confused, asking ourselves "Who have I become and how did I get here??" Yep, I've been there.

Lucky for us, God will only allow us to screw things up so badly before He hits us with circumstances that make us realize we can do nothing without Him. Lucky for us, He is all about second chances. Lucky for us, God will never stop loving us. These are amazing promises that I did not fully understand until I started surrounding myself with people who know who they are simply because of their relationship with Christ.

As I look back on the past year, I am blown away at how God's grace has changed my life. He has broken a vicious cycle I fought for so long and over a few months time has transformed feelings of hopelessness and guilt into a sense of peace and contentment. Isn't it amazing that He has the power to do that...to take away burdens I thought I would have to deal with everyday for the rest of my life...to rid me of the behaviors and relationships that were not honoring to Him...to change my heart that much?

When we can finally humble ourselves to the fact that we've really messed things up, acknowledge that we need God, and truly make Him the center, THINGS WILL CHANGE. His amazing plan for each of us is so much easier to see when all the old junk is finally gone...circumstances begin to change, you can see where God is working in your life, and there is so much hope in that. The only question I'm left asking now is, why'd I wait so long?

"He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Psalm 107:20