Isaiah 54:4 has a message everyone with a troubled past needs to hold close to their heart and trust the TRUTH of God’s message in it. It says: “Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed, neither be confounded and depressed for you shall not be put to shame. For you shall forget the shame of your youth and you shall not remember….”

In a couple of days I am going to a middle school to talk to parents and kids who come for a literacy night. I’m asked to come because they are focusing on Idaho authors. I think I mentioned this a few days ago. The message of this verse above is what I want these kids and any parents to know–“you shall forget the shame of your youth”. I lived with this shame of my own for so long I thought I’d have to die to be free of it. Instead, God wanted me to use this past to help others find the freedom He gave me. The TRUTH of God’s Word is written throughout the Bible. Yet, I so often read it as though it were a story from long ago. The TRUTH is as real today as it was then because God is the same yesterday, today and forever!

I sure don’t want to lose sight of the Power of God and His Word. The freedom God gives us through His Son Jesus and His Gift of The Holy Spirit is AMAZING. It has taken me 50+ years to find today’s freedom. It has been a journey worth taking for the VICTORY sign is always within thanks to Jesus Christ living in me.