I'm on a trip to London, and while I'm gone have asked a few friends to share with you on my blog.  These ladies are some of my favorite ladies ever and have much wisdom and love to share.  This is my friend Melissa and I met her pretty quickly after moving to Austin and we have been great friends ever since!  She's super fun and loves Jesus greatly.  She has four kids and they are ALL girls.  Bless her heart!  Enjoy her words and leave her a comment to encourage her!

Grace is a word I learned early on, as a child, at church. I remember singing about grace, talking about God’s grace, and doing crossword puzzles in Vacation Bible School that had the word grace on them. I heard the word often, but didn’t have a clue what it meant.

Grace began to reveal itself to me in many different ways as my life unfolded…

As a teenager, I engaged in very wild and rebellious behavior: drinking, drugs, partying in stranger’s apartments, driving while intoxicated, shoplifting, regularly sneaking out at night, etc. There were many nights that I shouldn’t have lived through. I believe God revealed His grace to me during that time by allowing me to live.

At 20, I got pregnant with my oldest daughter. With that, came a lot of shame and guilt for being pregnant outside of marriage. I remember sitting on the back row at Church, embarrassed that people I knew were going to see me with a pregnant stomach and judge me. God revealed His grace to me in that situation by blessing me with Jessica, who is absolutely beautiful, on the inside and out.

Nate and I got married when I was 26 and at a time in our lives when we were both still living pretty recklessly. We brought quite a bit of baggage into the marriage with us and for the first few years, that baggage caused a lot of damage and hurt to both of us individually, and to our marriage. The first year of marriage was probably the hardest but God’s grace was revealed through the birth of Ava Jean, who is so full of life and brings so much of that to our own lives.

The word “divorce” was thrown around a lot in the next four to five years of marriage. We were both ready to bail on the marriage and each other. God revealed His grace in some pretty major ways during this time. Through Godly counsel and friends that supported us, we were able to work through all of the hurt and today, have a strong healthy marriage (not perfect, by any means) that we feel so thankful for and two more beautiful girls, Betsy and Mary Jones.

God’s grace reveals itself to us in little ways sometimes but for me, His grace has been HUGE in my life. It’s how He’s shown me that He loves me, when I doubt it.

I can look back over my life and see God’s grace all over it. In Jesus going to the cross for my reckless ways, in the children I have that bless my life in ways I could never explain and in the best friend I have in my husband.

I didn’t know what the word grace meant when I was a child but oh, I do now, and how thankful I am that I do.

 Melissa is wife to Nate. Mom to Jessica, Ava, Betsy and Mary Jones. Lover of Jesus, family, Mexican Martinis and shoes. I've been showered with grace and thankful for it!

You can follower her via her blog, facebook, or twitter.