On September 29, 1974, God whispered my name…“Dianne…come here. It’s time.” And on September 29, 1974, I answered the call. I may have been only 14 years old, but having been raised in The Church of Jesus Christ, make no mistake, I knew what I was doing. I was signing up for life. And God knew what he was doing…He knew I would have never survived this life without Him. AND He knew ALL of the mistakes I would make and all of the missteps I would take. Yet he still wanted ME. 

From Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

Ghosting: The act or practice of abruptly cutting off all contact with someone.

Have you ever been ghosted by someone you believed was your friend? It’s a painful way for a relationship to end. And the chances are great that you didn’t see it coming. “How didn’t I know? Was it ever real?” are some of the questions that run through your mind. If you knew that the Ghoster would Ghost you, would you have ever let yourself be their friend? On September 29, 1974, God knew the time I would Ghost Him. I’d be there one day…and then I’d be completely gone the next. But yet, He still chose me. He knew some days I would be a loser friend, but yet He still picked me! 

And to take it a step further, before we were called to be baptized, before we were even conceived, God knew the mistakes we would make. And yet He gave us life. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.” He could have said, “This one isn’t going to work out so great.” But he didn’t. We exist because God gave us a chance, even though we would all fulfill this scripture found in Romans 3:23: “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” 

I’m confident that we all agree that, even though God loves us more deeply than any human ever will,it does not mean that we don’t have to do our best… and then ask God daily for forgiveness for our wrongdoings. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

Simply put, God loves us. We mess up. God loves us. We ask for forgiveness. God forgives us. God loves us. 

Can we love that deeply? Can we forgive before the offense? In John 15, we read: “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” 

Please know that whenever I write a blog, you, the reader, are simply listening in on a conversation I’m having with myself. Don’t ever mistake my words as reprimanding. One of the ministers I grew up under would often say, “My ears are closer to my mouth, so I need to hear this first.” 

I don’t have this unquestionable love thing down pat. I’d love to say that without a doubt, I’d welcome people back into my life that I’ve been hurt by. But yet, I absolutely should…God welcomes me back! I will, however, say that I will try. If you ever find yourself in the situation of offering grace to someone who has hurt you, won’t you please try with me? 

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.