Killarney Forrest, Ireland April 2011

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver.”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia

We serve a God who is full of exciting and limitless possibilities.  We are made in His image.  So, like Him, we can achieve the impossible. Sometimes, the things we are called to in our lives make us believe God is not safe.  He is asking us to step out in faith and believe what the apostle Paul says in Romans 8:28:

 ^“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)

I began blogging at www.iwokeupyesterday.com over a year ago.  Our blog has grown and touched the lives of a lot of folks. The blog has birthed a Leadership Event and a Life Coaching business.  It really is a dream come true to be a part of something so much bigger than myself.

In addition, the blog has inspired my sister and I to write our life story: Inseparable: One Heart, Two Bodies, Infinite Grace. 

I am more than willing to share my story with others, because I know that it is His story of amazing and powerful redemption.  We are identical twins and our lives took very different turns in our teenage years.  I was lost for many years in an addiction and a destructive lifestyle, which almost destroyed me. I spent many years institutionalized because I was unable to care for myself and make “responsible and adult choices”.

This story going public took a huge leap of faith, because it means telling details that so many never knew. It means reliving some of the most broken and hurtful times in my life, for the sake of others being reached in their hopelessness and despair.

Questions that stir in my heart are: “What will people think of me, if they know the whole truth? Will I be judged for living such a colorful and sinful past? What if my family is upset that I shared too much? What if no one reads it?”

As I write bits of the story, I am finding my roar.  I am releasing the need to feel safe in my newly renewed and restored life.  Word by word, He is healing every broken place of my past life.  He is revealing that this story being written is serving His eternal purposes.

It feels a bit surreal to write our story, as my new life does feel so removed from my past.  I celebrate almost 8 years of victorious and sober living and new life in Christ. I am happily married to an amazing, godly man I met in recovery and we have three amazing children.  We share a beautiful home and live in a supportive Christian community.  My life is a bit of a fairy tale, compared to the pit I used to live in.

I trust Him fully to use our story to touch many lives.  I believe that by pressing in and being brave, many will be blessed. We don’t get to know the outcome or the amount of people who could be impacted.  I do believe though, that even if one life is changed for the better, than telling every piece of my story is worth it.

This post was originally done for my friend Elora Nicole.  You can check out her blog here: http://www.eloranicole.com/2012/07/tammy-of-pits-fairy-tales/

Related articles

• Did He Call us to Die or to Keep it all in Balance? Jenny Price (iwokeupyesterday.com)
• You Can Finish by Michelle D. Howe (iwokeupyesterday.com)