A great love story

When did my life become a fairy tale?  When did the darkness disappear?  When did good begin to fill my life? When did I find happiness again? Don’t get me wrong.  I still deal with darkness and there is still evil in my world.  The difference now…it no longer controls me.

Any kind of suffering in life is devastating.  It is the reality and reminder that things are not always as they appear on the outside.  It can be crippling and for me it was, but I have experienced the miracle of God making all things new. I am learning that God works miracles every day.   He has spent the past couple of years working countless miracles in my life.  He has made much of the darkness and pain disappear as well as moments of regret, fade away. 

Years are often spent searching and hurting over the loss of someone or something.  It can consume our souls, our existence and eat away at us until there is nothing left but bitterness and pain. I almost ended up in that dark corner of life.  I found myself lost and alone.   Completely alone in the darkness.  Thankfully, my loss left me to search for something great.  It forced me to focus on Truth and led me to find the real light in this world.  Jesus became more real to me. I discovered a more intimate and genuine relationship with Christ. He was all I had and He had to be what guided me home. He was my road map.   He became my light, my beacon in the midst of an evil storm.  He was my hope.  He filled my life and went to work on the inside.  He removed the cobwebs.  He tore down the walls.  He mended the broken seams.  He restored my joy and gave me great hope.  He granted me purpose.  HE made me complete and wiped away my past by giving His life for mine.  His broken body covered my own because of His perfectly selfless love.  It is amazing!  I cannot explain it fully but I am a living example that Christ heals all things and makes us complete again. 

It is Spring and just like the newness of the season, a new chapter in my life is beginning.  The old is being replaced with something new and so much more amazing.  It happens when living an intentional life of following and surrendering to Christ daily. It occurs when fully trusting in God as He heals a broken heart.  It is allowing Him to replace feelings of hurt or sadness from “old places” with feelings of excitement created by His new mercies and abundant blessings.  It is choosing no longer to mourn over the “old times” or to ponder the “what ifs” but instead rejoicing at the fresh beginnings.  It is learning to say goodbye to the old and welcoming in those things and people that God has now purposely placed before us to serve as His blessings, reminders of His faithfulness.

My life is a fairy tale.  It truly begins with a once upon time.  It begins with Jesus, my Savior taking on death for me, rescuing me from the ashes and making me beautiful again.  It is an amazing love story of Christ changing me from the inside out and filling my life completely with His love.  Because of Him, everything around me is beautiful and new.  Because of Him, I have all that I need and all that I ever wanted.  He is and has blessed me with my hearts greatest desires.  He has not filled my life with “stuff” (i.e., house, car, money) but instead His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  My life is full of riches and completeness because walking with Him is the only real thing that brings true contentment.  We can never truly understand His great love until we fully embrace the sacrifice He made upon the cross.  His love story is for us all and the unspeakable joy He offers when we fully accept Him is truly more than any great author could ever put into words.  With Christ, we can genuinely have our happily ever after.

All the way my Savior leads me 
Who have I to ask beside 
How could I doubt His tender mercy 
Who through life has been my guide 

All the way my Savior leads me 
Cheers each winding path I tread 
Gives me grace for every trial 
Feeds me with the living Bread 

You lead me and keep me from falling 
You carry me close to Your heart 
And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me 

All the way my Savior leads me 
O, the fullness of His love 
O, the sureness of His promise 
In the triumph of His blood

And when my spirit clothed immortal 
Wings its flight to realms of day 
This my song through endless ages 
Jesus led me all the way 
All the way my Savior leads me

Chris Tomlin