As she entered the room dressed in orange scrubs matching every other girl in the line of inmates,
her dark brown eyes, hollow and empty, drew me in; but it was when she spoke that my heart melted.
As she put her arms around me, she whispered, “My name is Angel.”
I hugged her, overwhelmed at the thought of hugging an “angel” in jail.
Little did I know as our time with the girls ended that evening,
Angel would be the one to say she wanted to be baptized.
Frail, sad, and broken,
Angel knew she needed more.
Life without God hadn’t worked out too well.
She’d lost a lot along the way, and
she knew she couldn’t face another day on her own.
Where do we turn when every direction we’ve tried turns out to be a dead end?
Who can we trust when we’ve been hurt by so many we love?
There’s only one place to turn that changes everything about today and tomorrow and the next day.
There’s only one Person we can trust with every little part of our past, present, and future.
It’s in the turning and the trusting that we meet Him who has been waiting patiently for us through every wrong turn and every bad choice.
The Grace-Giver, the Unconditional Savior, the Constant Comforter, the Eternity-Promiser, the Joy-Sustainer…..He longs for all of us to turn and trust.
He’ll never force His way into our lives.
He’ll never demand more than we can give.
No amount of money can buy what He offers.
But the grace we receive when we surrender to Him frees us from everything this world may see as prison bars.
Guilt.
Rejection.
Grief.
Loss.
Sin.
Regret.
Angel had it all, and she was ready to lay it all at His feet.
She was ready to show Him that He was hers.
Wholly. Completely.
The only thing she had to offer was herself,
and the only thing He wanted was her.
Worth more than the most extravagant gift under any Christmas tree this year,
grace was waiting to be unwrapped by Angel.
It’s waiting to be unwrapped by you.
Over 2,000 years ago, a host of angels sang as the Grace-Giver arrived in a wooden manger.
Last night, the angels sang as the Grace-Giver washed away every ounce of Angel’s past in a plastic trough.
Baptizing a Christmas Angel.
Seeing His grace wash over her precious face.
It still amazes me.
I hope His gift of grace amazes you this Christmas.
Accept His gift today.
You’ll never receive anything better.
Jesus,
(Click the song title above to listen to one of my favorite songs.)
In December of 2007 as our youngest son, Nick, was fighting brain cancer, I began to blog. Writing provided a way for me to release all of my questions, fears, and doubts. It also allowed me to share the ups and downs of Nick's journey with people who were praying for him all over the world. When Nick went Home in November of 2008, my blog became my way of searching for God in the midst of my deep heartache. My heart was broken and grief brought to the surface every emotion imaginable. Being able to release those emotions through my writing brought a sense of purpose to my pain. Having already walked the road of grief in 1992 when we lost our daughter to SIDS, I knew I needed a way to keep from falling into a pit of depression and despair. I had walked close to the edge of a bottomless pit when we lost our daughter,and I knew I couldn't let myself get that close to the edge again. This blog has been and continues to be my tiny corner of the world where I can share My Heart as I journey through God's Word.......thus the name........ My Heart His Words. Thank you for taking time to share life with me. If we do not meet while here on earth, I look forward to hearing all about your life when we reach our final destiny.........Heaven! Email me anytime at 
Touches my heart! Thanks for sharing.
Sue
Rejoicing with the angels (and Angel!)! Thanks for sharing your story–His story–because that’s what Christmas is all about! : )
–Tammy A. from PA