Overcomer.

Happy Resurrection Day!

It is crazy to think how fast time is flying. It feels like it was just yesterday I was sitting in freshman orientation, and now here I am, three weeks away from calling myself a Texas A&M GRADUATE.

To start off, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read my blog. I was overwhelmed last month by the amount of support I received from family, friends, and even strangers. Your messages and comments have meant more to me than you’ll ever know. To top it off, my blog reached 4,000 views and the numbers keep climbing!

This past month I have seen God work in ways I never thought possible. During one of the hardest times of my life, I chose to let God get between me and my storm. I chose to keep holding His hand through each day and trusting His plan. As much as I would like to say He took the storm away, He didn’t. But He did use the storm to change me. And He used the storm for my testimony.

Today is Easter. The cross is a symbol of power. Calvary is a place of healing. 

On this day, we reflect on what Jesus did on the cross. He was betrayed, crushed, beaten, bruised, abandoned, tormented, forgotten, and crucified for US. On the cross, Jesus’ last words were, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” THAT is the power of the cross. When we gave Him pain, He gave us grace. Every wrong that we have done or was done to us has been diminished by every right Jesus did and every wrong done to Him.

From the Easter story we realize that WE caused the piercings in His hands and feet, yet He offered His life for us so we could be free from our sins. At the cross, we were set free. We were recipients of radical grace. We were healed.

Jesus dying on the cross wasn’t just about us getting into Heaven. The resurrection story is about the healing that comes from the cross which allows us to walk in a broken world.

We all have wounds. Depression, drugs, heartbreaks, brokenness, regrets, disappointments. And we all live in a society that is wound-focused. The enemy constantly tells us to go back to the place we were hurt to find peace. This past month, there were many times I found myself wound-focused. Some nights, I would lie awake trying to dig deeper into my wound to uncover some little detail I missed. I would desperately search for the spot where things went wrong. I would try to dig further and further—hoping to find answers. Wound-focused. The cross preaches the opposite. The cross says stop going back to the place you were hurt. The cross says healing isn’t in our wounds, but in HIS. That is where we will find peace.

“By His wounds, we are HEALED.”

Eventually I took this truth, and ran. Ran to the foot of the cross and laid all my brokenness and hurt at His feet.

 Max Lucado wrote,

“If it is true that in suffering God is most like man, maybe in our suffering we can see God like never before. The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you’ll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.”

Today, I can honestly sit here and say that God has changed my heart. While the pain was real, and the hurt still creeps in every once in a while, there is something more powerful that is apart of my life. By His stripes, I am healed. And through His healing I am not only set free, but also can set others free. I can choose to forgive. I can choose to be set free from the people that hurt me. And I can choose to share the story of my healing as 

part of my testimony.

The best news of all? He can heal you too.

This Easter, as you reflect on what Christ did at the cross, remember that by His wounds YOU are healed. Look at the pierced hands and feet of Jesus. Remember, that was for you. Go to the cross—wounds and all. Take hold of His pierced hand. And walk away a changed person—an OVERCOMER.