I'd made a mess out of my life and knew something had to change. It took getting arrested for shoplifting for me to fall to my knees, cry out to God, and surrender my life back to Him. 

In His goodness, God heard my cry and spoke to me in the wee hours of the morning when I was locked up. He busted through the bars on my heart, the ones that kept me imprisoned and far from Him. I made a promise that I would stop living for myself and start living for Him. 

There, in that cold, dim jail cell, I recommitted my life to Jesus. It was my ‘road to Damascus’ moment - when God spoke to me very clearly and gave me a new calling. 

I still had to face the consequences of my actions, but I knew with certainty that He would walk alongside me through it all. 

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.

by god's grace, I’ve made peace with my past and have developed the strength to keep running the miles to come. 

I'm on a journey now to run my life's race at God's pace instead of my own. As an amateur long-distance runner, I’m familiar with following roads that lead to the finish line. Endurance is needed to finish the race well. My spiritual journey is much like training for a race, and I’ve crawled, walked, skipped and run many miles to get where I am today.

Psalm 40:1-3

became my life verse...