VOICE OF TRUTH FOR TODAY
True Love
Situations and special moments like weddings, engagements and relationships often turn our thoughts toward love, but for many years, I had no idea what real love looked like.
Growing up in abuse, I believed love meant pain, rejection, and fear. After escaping an abusive relationship that nearly took my life, I reached a place where I had completely lost hope. I believed my life no longer had purpose and even planned to end it.
The night I intended to give up, a friend invited me to a party. While I sat alone, a man I barely knew stopped to ask how I was doing. His kindness was unexpected. Before leaving, he simply told me that if I ever needed help, I should call him.
Later that night, as I looked at the pills I had prepared, I sensed a quiet voice urging me, “Call that guy.”
I didn’t know it then, but God was calling me toward hope.
That phone call led to coffee, then friendship, and eventually a marriage that has now lasted more than three decades. God used Carl’s kindness to introduce me to a love I had never known before—the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (ESV). Looking back, I can see that God wasn’t simply giving me a husband. He was healing my heart.
As wonderful as my marriage has been, even that love cannot compare to God’s love. His love rescues, restores, forgives, and transforms. It reaches into our darkest places and reminds us that our past does not define our future.
If you’re wondering whether God could ever love someone like you, let me assure you—He already does.
“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, ESV)
His love changed my life.
And it can change yours too.
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Excerpt from Voice of Truth Magazine
“Coffee Chats” by Tina Kadolph