If you didn’t know me . . .

If you didn’t know me, you might look at me and assume I have it all together.

You might assume I am healthy. You might assume I have, and have always had an easy life.

If you only knew me from things I post on social media, you might know my husband and I are runners and have completed a few half marathons and a marathon. You might assume running is easy for us or that we’ve always been athletes.

If you knew me as a friend, you would know I have multiple sclerosis. You would know that while I appear healthy, I have physical struggles and fears that keep me up at night.

You would know I used to weigh 350 pounds and that I struggled with my weight my entire life.

If you were one of my closest friends, you would know that I was abused in multiple ways as a very young child.

You would know I became pregnant and had a child at 16. You would know that I was not a very good mother to my child until God got a hold of my heart at the age of 21 and my life truly began.

We meet people and we make assumptions. It’s our nature. We size them up and immediately prejudge who they are and what they are all about. But often, we have no idea the story God is writing in each person’s life… what they have endured, if they turned to God in their trials or ran from him. We don’t know the pain, the betrayal, the hardships. But, if we know Jesus, we can use his example to love every person, no matter how they appear or act.

In John 15:12, Jesus told us to …Love each other and I have loved you. Jesus loves us not because of our status or our physical appearance or accomplishments we’ve made. He loves us just as imperfect as we all are.

What if we made a choice to LOVE each person before we knew anything about them? What if instead of judging or making assumptions about a person, we chose to love them? What would the world look like? What would the world think about Christians if we who claim to follow Jesus TRULY loved like Jesus? If you have never known the love of Jesus, oh friend… please shoot me a message. Let’s chat. I can tell you accepting Him was the most pivotal moment of my life and I wouldn’t be a shell of the woman I am today without Him and His unending grace.