Cover It With Love

For those who have never heard my testimony, it has many layers.

In my late teens and early twenties, I was under the influence of a man who hurt me, a lot and often. He beat me, abused me in ways you would never wish on a human and tried to kill me more than once. And one day, just three feet from me, he took his own life with a single gunshot to his throat.

But this is not a story about suicide.
And this is not a story about abuse.

This is a story about forgiveness.

For years, I have carried what happened, but I have also come to understand something only God could teach me: forgiveness. Forgiveness does not excuse evil, harm, violence, or pain.

Forgiveness means I no longer have to be a prisoner to what someone else did in their brokenness.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And by the grace of God, I have been able to see that this man was deeply troubled. He had been hurt, wounded, shaped by pain, and harmed by the people who were supposed to love and protect him.

That does not make his actions right.

But it does remind me that God had a different plan for me than bitterness. A different plan than fear. A different plan than letting trauma have the final word.

Imagine a world where we truly prayed for those who hurt us. Not because they deserve our approval, but because they desperately need transformation. Imagine if we prayed that the life-changing reality of Jesus would interrupt cycles of violence, pain, addiction, rage, and despair.

Imagine if the people who hurt others were met by the saving grace of Jesus before they had the chance to keep multiplying harm.

That is the law of multiplication I want to live by.

Not multiplying revenge.
Not multiplying bitterness.
Not multiplying pain.

Multiplying grace.
Multiplying mercy.
Multiplying forgiveness.
Multiplying freedom.

Because when Jesus sets a heart free, that freedom does not stop with one person. It ripples. It heals. It changes families. It changes generations.

And by the Grace of God I am here and I do not sow bitterness, God has sown a beautiful harvest, full of love, hope, compassion and forgiveness and trust in God to take care of the “weeds” that come up in life.