I used to live my present in my past. It was a very dark and lonely place. The greatest gift I’ve ever received came from my past and that gift – that Gift – is the Light that lead me out of the darkness of despair and desolation. There are times when I’ll be looking into someone’s eyes and seeing a deadness, a lack of hope, reflecting from their hearts into their eyes; it’s as if there’s a barrier that prevents light from entering.
In his book, The Purpose Driven Life , Rick Warren wrote that God never wastes a hurt. I remember the first time I read that line; it was a relief. It was a relief to know that the darkness I had lived in for so many years would one day bring Light into someone else’s darkness.
If someone would have told me six years ago that I would soon give my heart and soul to Jesus Christ I would have laughed them right out of town. But today I can’t even begin to express the gratitude in my heart that exists because He chose me. He was the Light that shone in the darkness that was my life. He gave me life. He gave me hope – a hope that never fails because His love never fails.
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men,” John 1:4.



