Waiting With Open Arms

By: Gina Barton Sewell

There was a time in my life that my relationship with Jesus wasn’t quite what it is now. I was raised in the church. I was saved and baptized as a young teenager. I had a clear plan for my life, which entirely centered around Jesus. But then, somewhere down the line, I got a little off track. Rebellious teenager, you might say.
 
Years later, just as I’m getting back on track, there was a tragedy in my family that just brought me so much anger toward God. My mother, who was the staple of our family, the whole reason I knew who Jesus was and loved Him so much was involved in a terrible accident. A drunk driver hit her on her way home from my house. The ambulance arrived within one minute, and they were able to bring her back. But, unfortunately, her head injury was so severe that she never really came back. She spent months in the hospital, where I stayed with her, and when she came home, I tried so hard to take care of her, with no help, and the belief that she would make a complete recovery. I mean, after all, she did it right. She spent her life serving the Lord.
 
But she did not recover...

It took months for me to come to terms with the fact that she was never going
to be the same, that she was never going to remember my children or me, that,
my mom, as I knew her, was gone.

“In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Ephesians 4:26 (NIV)

​So, I got angry. Really angry, and the sun went down many days while I stayed angry, and that began a pattern in my life that I never thought would happen. I turned to drugs and alcohol. While there were many other factors, my anger with God was the beginning of the end for me.
 
I, very effectively, destroyed my life, as well as my children’s lives. It wasn’t long before I knew the error of my ways and wanted to run as fast as I could back into the arms of Christ. But, I didn’t because I felt His arms would not be open for me any longer. I felt my wrongs had been far too great.

​But God felt differently, and suddenly, I began to see blessings in my life. I began to see that, maybe, there was a way to find God again, which was through His grace. I surrendered it all to Him, and I was happy to know that His arms were still open for me and for all who love Him. Carrying me out of that pit, he gave me a whole new life. God changed my life just in time to spend my mom’s last couple of years with her. Sitting there at her bedside, I held her hand as she passed.

Gina is a mom and grandma from Dallas, Texas. She loves encourage others through writing. She writes about Jesus and her personal journey on her blog, Greatly Emboldened. Gina also finds joy in cooking and spending time with her family. You can connect with Gina further on her Website, or Instagram.

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