The Better Life

My friend, Cindy, is posting about me and giving away my books this week at her blog. (If you want to enter to win, head over THERE now.) I know her friends who pop over here from that shout-out may expect me to be as witty and clever as she is, but I’m not sure I even want to attempt it. That Cindy Beall is a funny one.

She’s also real. And bold. And for me, that’s an amazing combination. Add a good-loving Jesus girl to the mix and you’ve got awesome.

One of the things I love and appreciate most about Cindy is her ability to move past a painful experience in her marriage and be willing to share openly about it. (If you are one of my bloggy friends who does not know Cindy and her story, CLICK HERE to read about it.) While most of us are quick to point out and even dwell on the shortcomings of others, it’s not often that we are able to openly acknowledge the ways we have wandered away from truth instead of walking in it in our own life. Cindy’s husband has been willing to do that, and the result has been phenomenal.

Listen, we all sin. {At least I hope that's something we are all on the same page about.} We all sometimes say and do things we shouldn’t. The last I checked, none of us are perfect. But fortunately, perfection is not a characteristic God expects any of us to have. Instead, He’s perfect enough for all of us, and then some.

In case you haven’t heard, the Christian life is not about striving to be accepted in the eyes of others or performing to meet their expectations. Good thing, because most of us would fail miserably at that one.

But it’s about pursuing a right relationship with God to the point where nothing stands between the two of you and you know it -- no hidden sin or known pretense. It’s the kind of relationship where you can lay your head on the pillow at night and know that despite all else, you are unquestionably clean before your Lord.

There was a point in Cindy’s husband Chris’s life that he couldn’t say that.

But a desire to forgo personal turmoil and instead, adopt righteousness, led him to become honest about the hidden things going on in his heart. And as a result, his family and many others have been profoundly affected.

I love Cindy Beall. I love her story. But what I love the most is that we both worship the One who loves, chastens, and flat out doesn’t let go. We both worship the One who gives peaceful rest to those whose hearts are bent toward Him; the One who offers the enormously better life.

Sweet Jesus. Blessed restoration.