It's my Re-Birthday!

For anyone wondering what a "re-birthday" is, I am so excited to explain! Six years ago, today, I gave in to a beckoning far greater than anything I could understand and gave my life to Jesus Christ! On this day, six years ago, I was reborn. God washed me in His grace, He made me a new creation in Him. He took away all my sin, my guilt, my shame and replaced it with mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Just as the vast ocean of regret and pain in which I was drowning became too great, God rescued me. He saved my life!

Somehow, this date sneaks up on me every year.

It is nearly half an hour before this day ends, and all at once I remember. In just a moment, I find myself overwhelmed with thankfulness and weep for all the ways God has repaired my broken life. Yes, He saved my soul that day as I crossed from death to life, but the saving didn't stop that day. He has continued to renew my soul each and every day. He continues to mend my brokenness in ways I am not always fully aware of. He is constantly working to free me of chains that bind. This is the business God is in: redeeming the lost and healing the broken!

I have mentioned before that I am a nanny, a position that I love so very much and one that I am incredibly thankful for! I keep two sweet children two days each week, and they are both SO much fun! While big sister, who is six years old, is at school, baby boy and I spend the majority of each Monday together. Baby boy is two years old and a joy to watch as he learns more and more about his world. In the past few months, he has begun to pick up more and more words, which makes our Monday's much more interesting. I can't always understand these words, so often he goes misunderstood. For example: The past month or so when I put him down for his nap, he would say a word that sounded, to me, like "walk". I understood this to mean he wanted to walk a little bit before his nap, to which I would remind him it was nap time, not walk time. Today, I finally realized what he has actually been saying: "Rock." As in, let's rock in the rocking chair. I felt pretty silly for not catching that earlier! I obliged him and decided to sing a few songs to him, too. I searched my mind for lyrics of worship songs I love, but could recall none at the moment, so I sang Jesus Loves Me. When I finished that, Amazing Grace popped in my head, so as the melody flowed, I worshipped in my heart:

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see

My chains are gone, I've been set free
My God, My Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood, His mercy rains
Unending love
Amazing Grace

Growing up in a Christian family, I have been familiar with this song since childhood and it has always been a favorite of mine. It wasn't until God saved me that the words came to life in my heart. I finally understood God's amazing grace because He poured it out on me, even after I had turned my back on Him time and time again. I felt the flood of His mercy, because I knew the punishment of my sin was death. Jesus took my place. I felt it, I knew it, I received it; finally.

Anytime I sing this song, I think about the moment Christ met me face-to-face and pardoned my life. So, even though it took me a little while to remember the importance of this day, I worshipped my Savior today in the form of a lullaby for a toddler and remembered when He found me. I remembered when He made me new.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!"
         - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Thank you, Father, for saving my life. Thank you for your mercy that you show me everyday, thank you for a love so great that you would die to save me, save us.

I am not worthy, but I receive what you pour out.

Thank you for offering each of us the choice to be free; thank you that in you we may find peace, we may find rest.

Thank you, Father, for the work you are doing. We praise You!