Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! Beautiful song! Perhaps one of the most well-known songs of all time. But as I’ve come to learn more each year—and as I reflect back on this year in particular—His amazing grace really has saved me, and I’m not just talking about the moment when I chose to trust Jesus as a young child. 

This year, 2025, has by far been the most difficult and challenging year of my life. It started out heavy with anticipation and vision, and then, mid-way, became twisted with the deepest and worst grief I have ever known. That’s when I started literally breathing in His grace. I desperately needed it to make it from one moment to the next. 

I’m going to be honest. There are tears in my eyes as I sit down to write this. The healing process from the life-altering situations that occurred are ongoing. And yet, today, here, in this place, His grace is still there.  

Every breath I take reminds me that He is here. Every breath I take reminds me that I need Him just as much as I need the breath I just took and the next breath I am about to take. Every breath reminds me that never in a million lifetimes would I ever be able to truly live without His presence in my life. Every breath reminds me that He is my source and my hope. Every breath reminds me that He is more faithful than I can ever truly comprehend. Every breath reminds me that in just a moment I will need more breath—and more of Him. 

And so, in a way I had never expected, and (to be REALLY honest) in a way I had never wanted—not in my worst nightmares—I learned to live in His grace in a totally new way. I experienced the sweet power of His grace in a very real, life-changing way. I learned how deeply His grace can imprint on my character and how to breathe His grace in and out through the hardest things in life. And while I would NEVER BEGIN to wish the things I endured on anyone else, I also know that I am not alone. 

I am not the only one who has endured the unthinkable. I am not the only one who will do a lookback and see a year forever marked by sorrow. I am not the only one who learned to take that sorrow and turn it into intercession. I am not the only one who had to learn, breath by breath, to rely on the only hope that is ever sure and the only grace that ever was and ever will be. If you are reading this and thought you were alone in living through the unthinkable, please know. You. Are. Not.  

I know we don’t like to talk about walking through the hard things in life. Oh, sure, we’ll slap nice generic labels like “wilderness seasons” or “trials and tribulations” or “spiritual warfare,” and it’s not like those labels aren’t true. They are. Each in their own way. I personally believe 100% that much of what was faced boiled down to spiritual warfare, but it also boiled down to brokenness.  

We live in a broken world. It’s why Christ came. He came to save, redeem, and restore what was lost. He came to bind up the brokenhearted and to heal us in and out. And sometimes, that brokenness from this world that is broken hits us hard. And it hurts. Big time. Does it mean that God is any less good? Does it mean that God is any less faithful? Does it mean that God is any less powerful or kind? NO WAY.  

When the brokenness hits big time, that’s when I KNOW because I LIVE in His goodness. It’s the only goodness there is. I KNOW He is faithful because I FEEL Him with me in the middle of the mess. I KNOW He is powerful and kind because I EXPERIENCE His power and kindness in a very unique way that gets me through one moment at a time.  

Does He use people? Absolutely! I can’t tell you how many times someone sent me a worship song or a Bible verse that was “it” for that moment. It’s one of the ways I saw His goodness, faithfulness, kindness, and power in a very tangible way. So, if God puts someone on your heart to send them a quick text or verse or worship song. Do it! You never know what they’re going through that day.  

Final thoughts: If you are someone going through a mess right now, know you are NOT alone. God IS with you. Always. He IS good, faithful, and kind. He IS hope and will FLOOD you with hope IF you will trust Him (Rom. 15:13—my go-to right now!). Let your intercession run deeper than your pain and let His hope flood your soul!