Luke 15:20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”

Confession time. I strayed from God. It was a dark time in my life, and I really don’t like thinking or talking about it, but I’ve been led to share it with you. I was in my 30’s, I was married with no kids, but my marriage was falling apart. I was blindsided by that fact. I really had no idea my marriage was in trouble until it was. It wasn’t a gradual thing that I saw coming. From my perspective, one day it was fine the next day it was not. That threw me off balance and I started to doubt my own thinking.

So, I made changes that I thought would help. I did things that I thought would help. I allowed things to happen in my home that I thought would help. I wasn’t forced to do these things. I did them of my own free will. And I was okay with it for a while because I wanted my marriage to work. I stopped going to church because I was ashamed of what I was doing, and I didn’t want God to see my shame. I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. Guess what, it didn’t help. Doing the wrong thing never helps a bad situation. Turning away from God is never the answer.

It took a long time for me to come to that realization, years really. When I look back on that time now, I also realize that God was still there with me. He was walking with me through every step of that journey waiting for me to turn back to Him. Honestly, I don’t think I could have made it out of that situation without him. He protected me from trauma and permanent damage that I willingly subjected myself to.

I’m sharing all of this with you because I want you to know that you are not alone if you have strayed from God. I also want you to know that it is okay to come back to God. It might take some time to make the changes in your life that will allow you to feel good again. It might be hard to create or rebuild habits of worship, prayer and getting in the word so that you feel close to God. But this is exactly why God sent Jesus to earth. To teach you about forgiveness and grace. To die for your sins so that you can be redeemed, and your sins wiped clean. God is here, and he is ready for you to come back. Any time. Every time. All the time.

Lord, thank you for welcoming me back into your loving arms. Thank you for opening my eyes to forgiveness and grace. Bless those reading this devotional and lead them back to you too. Amen.