Today I am honored to have Rachel Britz joining me. I first met Rachel when she contacted me about possibly helping with the launch of her first novel Goodbye Lover. I had the opportunity to read the book before it was released and I LOVED it. I purchased a copy that I will be giving away this week. So, read Rachel’s story and leave a comment so you can be entered to win your very own copy of her book!
Rachel’s story…
Do you remember the TLC program called, “A Baby Story”? It was a 1990’s reality show that featured a couple in the late stages of pregnancy. Each episode covered a baby shower or some part of the couples’ home life, eventually showing them going to the hospital or preparing for a home birth. At the end of each episode you’d witness the labor, delivery, and then the miracle of birth: seeing firsthand how their life had been radically transformed.
I remember that time, the late 1990’s. I was a 19-year-old, sophomore in college, with a baby story of my own: unwed and pregnant. On October 26th, 1997, moments after my beautiful daughter entered the world, I passed out. When I came to, the doctor explained to me that I had a condition called Obstetrical Hemorrhaging. I would bleed to death if he didn’t remove the growing clot from within me. So, after what felt like a second (considerably more painful) delivery, my life was spared. I later learned that the condition was the cause of internal, postpartum bleeding. Because of this experience the doctor said I’d be better equipped to handle future deliveries.
But none of this is my story.
A multitude of circumstances and experiences have shaped and molded me. Many have altered my life. But they are not my story, because I believe that my true story can only be defined by the good work that has occurred between Jesus and me.
“Our story is what happens between Jesus and us in the pages of our earthly journey.”
– Lisa Whittle, Whole
I often refer to my story as My Becoming. The word “becoming” by definition refers to a process of change, a journey that takes time, and also, a manner in which is attractive.
And for those of us who are Believers’ in Christ this process of learning to be-like-Jesus…is really our most authentic Becoming Story.
If you really want to know a portion of my Becoming Story, then I should tell you about the time when I was a 19-year-old sophomore in college. The time I remember coming home to my apartment: going into my room, closing the door, and collapsing in despair upon my bed. I hated myself. Overcome with guilt and shame because my excessive partying and promiscuous lifestyle. As my Bible lay open upon my lap, I cried out in desperation: “Jesus, please save me from this ruin.”
Two months later, I learned I was pregnant.
God takes even the tangled up, broken messes and makes beauty. New life.
I believe there is a Becoming Story inside all of us, if we focus and allow Jesus to transform us into His likeness. Yours looks different than mine. Perhaps you’re afraid what others might think if they knew some of those dark places you’ve been. Perhaps you’re feeling bitter about the story you’ve been given. Or perhaps you dream for a story that’s more adventurous.
And so, you forget the most remarkable thing about it: That it’s the very thing that Jesus has written upon the sacred pages of your life.
And so, your becoming story can be a great tool if you can muster up the courage to value it. There is purpose in your story! And how you choose to share it with the world is simply yours.
Thank you, Rachel. What truth you have shared here today!!
You can enter to win a copy of Rachel’s book by leaving a comment on this post.
You can earn extra entries by sharing this post on social media.
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This giveaway closes at midnight, Wednesday, November 25, 2015.
Connect with Rachel on her website, Facebook and Twitter. You can find her book on Amazon.
About the book…Good-Bye Lover is a becoming story about young Honora Gallagher whose only ambition in life is to play her late mother’s beloved heirloom fiddle. Until, very unexpectedly, her father is tragically killed, naming her as the heiress of their families’ legendary estate, a castle in County Donegal, Ireland. Except, its 1880, in which a woman to receive such an inheritance was quite unheard of, so her father added a condition that she must wed within 12 months or the castle would be handed over to a distant cousin and unfamiliar cousin. Honora is now forced to choose – will she remain loyal to her father and the servants who are counting on her or will she follow her heart and chase her dream of playing music?
Beautiful!