I was 22 years old when I gave my life to Christ.
Although I was raised in the gospel, after the age of seven, my mother was in and out of church. Because of this, I never truly formed a personal relationship with Christ. I knew He was real, and I enjoyed going to church occasionally. Deep inside, I also always knew that I wanted to sing for the Lord. I just never knew how to approach Jesus.
Before coming to Christ, I lived in a small studio apartment. I worked two jobs while completing my associate degree. From the outside, it may have seemed like I had my life together—and, in many ways, I thought I did. I was independent, hardworking, and building a future for myself.
Yet, deep inside, I felt empty.
It was during that season that my ex-husband wrote to me and began telling me about Jesus. Something about his words captured my heart. That moment marked the beginning of my journey with Christ.
However, even though I had started following Jesus, I still did not understand the meaning of grace.
I was seeking God, but I was incredibly hard on myself. I believed grace was something I had to earn by doing my best and looking the part. I thought that if I changed the way I dressed and removed everything the church considered immodest, then God would surely show me grace.
Without realizing it, I was treating grace like a reward for good behavior instead of receiving it as the gift it had always been.
Ironically, I did not begin to fully understand grace until after my divorce—after the pain, after the heartbreak, and after the mistakes.
It was in those broken places that God showed me He loved me for who I was, not because of what I could do for Him. When I felt like I had fallen short, His grace reminded me that His love had never depended on my ability to be perfect.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (NIV) says:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Grace is an undeserved gift from God.
He created us. He chose to love us. Everything we have is because of His undeserved love—not because we earned it and not because we performed well enough to deserve it.
Today, I can say that I am stitched together and healing—not because of anything I have done, but because of the grace He has continually extended toward me. Every broken piece, every painful chapter, every mistake, and every lesson has been held together by His love.
That is the heart behind Stitched in Grace.
Maybe you feel as though you have to fix yourself before coming to Jesus. Maybe you believe you have to look the part, do everything right, or become “good enough” before God will accept you.
But grace says you do not have to earn the gift. You simply have to receive it.
So, I encourage you: have faith and come to Him as you are. Allow Him to take care of the rest.
Piece by piece, season by season, we are being stitched together by grace.