Salt and Light

 Her alarm rings. It is Tuesday morning.

She drags herself into the kitchen for a cup of “awake.”

She is tired. Last night she worried about some of her students. But she finds her way to that familiar spot of refuge with the steaming cup, Bible, and journal.

As she prays, she asks God to forgive her for the lack of enthusiasm and the failure to remember those words of Scripture beyond a brief minute. Is she just going through the motions? Why didn’t God send her to be a missionary to China—or at least let her teach a Sunday School class? She wonders, when will she actually be used by God for His Kingdom work?

The caffeinated time with God is over, and it is on.

So much to do.

On the way out the door she grabs an extra sandwich and that sweater she found for Angela. Angela is going through a rough time at home and came to school without a sweater or lunch twice last week.

When she gets to school, there is a substitute in the room next door, so she sticks her head in and helps her find what she needs to do her job today.

The bell rings.

Fifth graders fill the hallway—some loud, some sullen, some excited, some just going through the motions. She notices the attitude of each student as she greets them with a smile, even the ones who, for whatever reason, really wish they were in the more popular teacher’s class today. She realizes that thought was from the enemy and shakes it off.

Some of today’s lessons go well, and some fall short. She makes a mental note of each student’s understanding and how to improve it tomorrow. New ideas and tried-and-true techniques mingle in her mind while she notices student interactions and heads off issues before they surface.

She dries tears, fixes wardrobe malfunctions, redirects the mean-girl group before they can go on the attack, and attends ARD meetings for her students with special needs. She also finds a moment to discreetly give Angela the sweater and sandwich.

Then she remembers—Tuesday means lunch duty. Sigh.

She helps open Capri Sun boxes, locates a missing lunch ticket, and strikes up a conversation with Sam, the lonely new boy. She quietly nudges one of her kindest students to include him.

The bell rings, and the afternoon continues.

It rings again. The class day is done. Next is bus duty. She smiles and waves at impatient parents in the long line of cars, stopping to tell Jesse’s mom what a great friend he was to the new boy today.

Finally, the workday is over. Blessed peace. She checks on the substitute again and thanks her for helping a coworker on baby leave.

Time to gather her things, stop at the store, and head home. She remembers she needs to cook extra tonight so she can send a meal to her sick mother-in-law. And she needs to check the spare bedroom—family is passing through tomorrow and will need a place to stay.

Dinner is finished. Dishes are done. She grades a few papers in front of the TV, puts them in her bag for tomorrow, and falls into bed for a well-deserved night’s sleep.

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The alarm rings. It is Wednesday morning.

She drags herself into the kitchen for a cup of “awake.”

She is tired. But she finds her way to that familiar spot of refuge with the steaming cup, Bible, and journal.

As she prays, she asks God to forgive her for the lack of enthusiasm and the failure to remember His Word beyond a brief minute. She talks to God about Angela and Sam. She asks again why He didn’t send her to be a missionary—or at least let her teach in a Christian school where she could share Bible stories and quote Scripture.

She wonders, When will I actually be used by God for His Kingdom work?

And somewhere between the prayer for Angela…

and the concern for Sam…

and the quiet obedience of showing up again…

the answer has already been given.

She is.

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“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.”

—Matthew 5:13–14

Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Real Journey of Following Christ

Accepting Jesus is only the beginning—following Him daily is where the real transformation happens.

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The One-Sided Gospel

If you picked up a coin and found that only one side was printed, you’d know it was fake. A post currently circulating on social media discusses only one side of Christianity. But the life of following Christ is a two-sided coin. One side is accepting Jesus as Lord; the other is following Him daily. In church-talk, these sides are called justification and sanctification.

The post warns that many people are fooled into thinking being good will get them to heaven. It leaves readers wondering if they’re going to heaven or hell—because there seem to be so many ways to get it wrong. It also suggests that those who do good are simply trying to earn salvation, implying that once we say “yes” to Jesus, we can go back to life as usual since being good is pointless.

But here’s the thing—there is truth in that post. We cannot earn our way to heaven. If we think we can, we are deceiving ourselves. Yet, that’s where the truth ends.

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The Danger of a Half-Truth

The unintentional message sounds a lot like “turn or burn, then carry on.” But that kind of “get-out-of-hell-free” mindset is dangerous. It ignores the beautiful journey we’re invited into—walking and talking with God each day.

If you believe you can say a quick prayer, shout a “hallelujah,” and then carry on as before—think again. You may have stamped your ticket to heaven, but if that’s your only motivation, you might be surprised. Time and time again, Jesus pointed to the motivation behind our actions. Motivation matters.

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Life More Abundant

Yes, Jesus came to seek and save the lost—but His mission didn’t stop there. He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly—a life surrendered to becoming more like Him, loving others with selfless abandon. And when we live this way, it shows. To some, it might look like striving to earn heaven, but in truth, it’s the natural outflow of gratitude.

Transformation is the evidence of a heart surrendered to Jesus. It’s part of the walk. When we live in daily surrender, change is inevitable.

James 2:14–17 (NIV)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

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Surrender and the Helper Within

When you prayed that prayer, you made a commitment to surrender. You chose to transfer ownership of your life. You gave up your right to call the shots and instead became the hands and feet of Christ in this world. Of course, we can’t do this in our own strength. That’s why God sent a Helper—the Holy Spirit—to live within us and guide us.

But His voice can easily be drowned out by the noise of everyday life.

To hear Him, we must be still and know that He is God.

Be still.

Again—be still!

We have to quiet our racing minds and tune in to His voice. There are many ways to practice this, far too many for one post. But a great resource is How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People by Pete Greig. Listening to God requires patience, focus, and time. It isn’t easy—we are imperfect people trying to hear a perfect God—but it’s worth it.

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The Reward of Listening

When we persist in listening and surrendering, we begin to find Him. The more we know Scripture, the more we recognize His voice and His character. We begin to see His deep love for us in everything. The more we seek, the more we find. And as our faith grows, that nagging worry about whether we’re “really saved” begins to fade.

So, what’s in it for us?

We already have that ticket to heaven, right?

Ah—there it is again. Motivation.

What’s in our hearts when we seek Him?

Are we going through the motions, or are we falling in love with our Savior?

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Undone: From Ashes to Beauty

Is it possible to be undone and then put back together in a better way? Yes! I know this can happen. 

Here is my story. 

I was raised as a church-going, straight-walking, clean-talking Southern Baptist girl. (Okay, maybe not that clean-talking.) I went to church at least three times a week from birth. I fell in love with Jesus while in my youth group at my church. My whole life was among my Christian circle of family and friends. Until…

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My Stupidity and Stubbornness Caught Up  with Me

At the young age of 18, I made a series of bad choices and ended up locked into marriage to a guy who had no love for me. After we were married he said he didn’t love me and showed this in many non-physical yet gut-wrenching ways. Because I messed up, I figured I deserved this, and because I was brought up to believe that marriage vows were never to be broken, I was looking at a life sentence in this sad existence. I lost contact with all my people. I no longer could go to church or family for solace, and I began to see church looking in from the outside. 

Every day for seven years I pleaded with God to heal my marriage. I went to a year or two of Christian counseling, and yet while I repeatedly grasped at any snippet of hope, nothing really ever changed. I was trapped and alone, and there was no way out that my belief system would approve. 

Then one day my husband told me he was leaving me and my two girls. Even though I was heartbroken at the time, I will be forever grateful to God for this. Within one week, I felt the cool, fresh breeze of relief. I no longer had to try to entice him to love me. I no longer had to hopelessly strive to earn his love. Just like that, a seven-year burden was lifted from my shoulders. I felt mental and even physical relief. God answered my prayer in that He used this evil for my good. Even now, over 40 years later, there isn’t a day that goes by that I am not grateful for this second chance at life and love. 

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D.I.V.O.R.C.E. is a Four Letter Word???

But divorce went against the teachings of my upbringing. A close family member strongly suggested to my parents that they should disown me for this. Thank the Lord, my parents did not disown me. However, I was ashamed of the pain and embarrassment this caused them and I never asked them for any help,  even though I sorely needed it. I would not and could not lean on them for support. I found that lack of child support and digging through the couch for money to buy the next gallon of milk was easy compared to living with someone who didn’t love me. 

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Let Me Be Clear 

Life on earth is not for wimps. When the Bible says God uses all things, those things are not all good things. Much of what I endured was born from sinful choices of myself and others. But all difficulties are not caused by bad choices. Some things happen because there is an adversary, and many horrible circumstances are straight from hell. And sadly, injustices happen, but there is nothing that can’t be turned around and used for the glory of God. 

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Undone and Redone

It was the isolation that was the biggest challenge. This is the experience that undid me. Part of this isolation was because of my shame over my bad choices and how they affected my innocent children. I built a wall to protect myself from others. With the eyes of an outsider, I saw the looks and heard the false rumors about me. Because of this treatment, I began to question everything I once held as truth.

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What God Did

It is difficult to confront your own misguided beliefs, realizing much of what you held as truth was really self-reliance and rule-following. In the Bible, dogmatism is referred to as being stiff-necked. I asked that I learn to never kick another while they are suffering. This truth-seeking process brought about a tenderness and understanding that were not a part of my DNA. It was like learning to walk again. But it resulted in freedom! It is for freedom that Jesus forgave me and set me free! God took my rigid, legalistic ideas and exchanged them for love and understanding. He put me back together better than before. It was Susan 2.0.

So off I went with a joyful new spring in my step. I moved my girls to a new town where I had my first full-time job teaching. Times were tough, but God provided over and over again. I was leaning into Him because He was all I had to carry me through the next day. And carry me, He did! I’ll say it again. God’s love, mercy, and gift of peace were in this difficult time of my life in a palpable way. 

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Here is a picture of the day God gave me a second chance at love. God is so good!

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When I look back, I see the good that God brought about from living through other low blows life has given me. It is from these difficulties that I grew up and learned. I often wonder, if I hadn’t gone through this, would I have ever softened? Without this learning opportunity, would I have been destined to become one of those opinionated old church ladies? I am a witness to God’s using all things to work together for His good. From each bump in the road, God brought about a closer relationship with Him. And if He did this for me, He can do it for anyone. In fact, I hope that you can look back at a point in life where you blew it. It is a pathway to leaning into the Father. 

Here is a very fitting song. Scars by I Am They