I pray this poem encourages you that God is with you even in the middle of the valley of the shadow. He loves you in the middle of the struggle, the pain, the confusion, the heartache. He is right there, in the middle of it all.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:1-4

Jesus is knocking at the door of our hearts. He desires us to open up and let Him have full access to every area of our lives. I encourage you to let Jesus into every area of your heart. When you give Him your whole heart, He will make your heart whole. He will restore what is broken and will provide you with steadfast peace, radiant joy and unshakable hope. This poem expresses the journey of my relationship with Jesus during a very difficult season. Even when I wanted to hide, He still gently beckoned me closer to His heart.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20

We often try to hide our scars from God and from others. But our scars, our wounds and weaknesses, can actually lead others to the Healer. Even Jesus has scars. His scars testify of His love for us. Likewise, our scars testify of His compassion and healing in our lives. We can boldly show our scars because others will see Jesus through them.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. John 20:20

When we realize who God has made us to be and align with His plans and purposes for our lives, we will begin to experience the “MORE” we were made for. We will live in the joy of looking beyond ourselves and discover the beauty of serving others. We will remain confident in what God says about us no matter the opinions of the crowd. We will live the abundant life Jesus died to give us when we lay down our entire life to follow Him. When we choose to give our whole lives over to Him, we will actually understand more than ever what it means to live.

Now is the time to step into the abundant life Jesus provided. Our King is inviting us into a fresh start, an awakening to who we are and who He’s called us to be.

We were made for more.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25