After the Locusts

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…” ~Joel 2:25

My divorce sent me into downward spiral of pain, depression, self hatred and anger at God. But that’s not the worst part…

In my anger at God, I ran from Him. In my 10 years of running from Him, I did something that carries more weight in guilt than everything else – I stopped teaching my children about God. I stopped attending church and stopped praying with them. I stopped talking about Him and definitely didn’t live a Godly example for them.

In August of 2009, this prodigal daughter returned to her Father, who was waiting with open arms. As I poured out my guilt and pain at the feet of Jesus, one thing was impossible for me to let go… I had let my kids down. The product of my 10 years of selfish living was four kids who didn’t know anything about God, and barely believed in His existence. I would have done anything to go back and change that, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t go back and change the bad decisions and mistakes I had made. But God could!

Through the Mercy and Grace of Christ, my kids began attending the amazing youth group at my church. One by one…

Through the Mercy and Grace of Christ, my kids gave their lives to Jesus. One by one…

Through the Mercy and Grace of Christ, my kids publicly declared their faith through baptism and I got to witness it. One by one…

Through the Mercy and Grace of Christ, I have been able to let go of the guilt and shame of my mistakes. One by one…

As I watched the last of my children be baptized on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, a scripture ran through my mind. I had heard a friend use it a few weeks before:

Joel 2: 25-27

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame.
Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:
I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.

Through my bad choices, the locusts had eaten a significant chunk of my life and the lives of my children. Through the Mercy and Grace of Christ, those years were restored to me and to them. One by one…

The wonder of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is that when we turn our lives over to Him, fully and completely, He takes our battered and locust ridden lives and turns them into something beautiful and amazing – and He gets all the Glory!