Why Jeremiah 1:5?

After Dad and I finished writing the book, and I decided to re-build and re-name this blog...the domain 'nevergiveup' was already taken. Immediately it was so clear that 1...5 was the most appropriate add on. The verse Jeremiah 1:5 holds a special place in Dad and I's journey to healing. I will never forget receiving that piece of mail with the above photocopy and note enclosed. It was definitely a pivotal turning point that stuck...even if it wasn't an immediate 'fix' for our relationship.
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Here's some thoughts on this subject from my Dad too...
In April of 2002 my journey with Jesus Christ began. It was at this time I learned of his saving grace. He began changing my heart instantly and He's still shaping it more and more everyday.

I, of course, have made many mistakes in life (and I still do), but His grace and love for me never ends. It never changes! My greatest struggle, or at least one of them, is catching myself more caught up in rules rather than relationship. Some habits just die hard.

I don't know exactly when, but within the first couple of years of my new journey, I discovered a scripture in the Bible...Jeremiah 1:5. It's where God tells Jeremiah that He formed him in his mothers womb and approved him. In this exact moment, I made the connection in my heart that He made me and everyone else. And as I kept hearing those words, I realized he also made my children, and down on my knees I fell. I was called to be the Dad, but He was their creator.

During this particular season, I was working on pursuing a better relationship with my daughter, but wasn't seeing much light. She was hurt and mad and I was the source of a good part of that.

Fast forward just a bit, and one day I was reading a small devotional by Joel Olsteen (30 Thoughts for Victorious Living).  When low and behold, day 7, was about Jeremiah 1:5. And this time, I made an additional connection with this verse. My daughter's birthday is on the 7th. And in this exact moment, I was deeply corrected. It was so very clear to me, I had failed at being her father, but I was willing to change, to put in the work.

Change wouldn't come easy, because unconditional love isn't easy. We want our love to be reciprocated. And it would take some real time for that to be Melissa and I's story.

​This was, and still is, one of the best things God has taught me in my  journey with Him....God loves no matter what and He is calling us to do the same. This is a heart condition. It doesn't mean every relationship results in total restoration. It ultimately takes 2 people for this kind of restoration Melissa and I have experienced.

I will be forever grateful for the revelation of Jeremiah 1:5 and how it changed my heart about all the people I come in contact with. God doesn't make mistakes and I will celebrate His creation until I go home. He's the real hero, the MVP!
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To this day, this verse rings so deep and meaningful to me. In all the darkest places of judgments, betrayals, abandonment, and more....I know that there is a constant who cares about me, believes in me, loves me, and will NEVER leave me. That kind of comfort brings so much peace and joy over a heart filled with the pain of life's hard seasons. My heavenly father thought enough about me to create me...no matter what I've been told or shown at times. That is something I (of course) wish I could have learned much sooner, but I also will forever be grateful to have learned it exactly when I did.

Friends, if you're struggling right now to fit in, to be accepted, or to feel loved....please don't fret about that. You already are perfectly imperfect to Him. You are LOVED & you are APPROVED ALWAYS, no matter where you are in your journey. People will let you down sometimes. People will hurt you sometimes. People are just that...people, and we all fall short at times and stumble. But His promises are a guarantee, an unbreakable commitment to us all. He's the real deal!!
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NEVER GIVE UP!!