Amazing Grace

Have you ever heard someone give a beautiful testimony of God's amazing grace?

You know, stories from people who have been lost in the world - addicted to alcohol, strung out on drugs, enslaved by prostitution. Many of them are looking for a way out, but can find none. Rather, they are imprisoned by a long list of choices, circumstances, and painful memories.
But then God...
...comes in and rescues them from their pit of despair. HE gives hope to the hopeless. Life to the dead. And everything changes.

Oh, how I love those stories!
I am always moved by the power of God to transform a life.
I have given Him thanks, just imagining where that person would be if God had not stepped in with His amazing grace.
And then, honestly? I have often thought, Wow. I wish I had a story like that.

But just a couple weeks ago, I realized I do have a story of God's amazing grace.
That isn't to say I suddenly came to terms with a past of crime and addiction. Rather, I realized God's grace is just as amazing without drama as it is with it.
See, my story isn't filled with a lot of drama. I grew up in the church. Went through the typical teen years, but never did anything really crazy. (I mean, I double-pierced my ear at my best friend's house and kept it hidden from my mom for a month. I snuck around with a *much* older guy for a while. And I was promiscuous. But in my mind I was still a pretty good kid.) Through it all I continued attending church, believing in God, saying my bed-time prayers, singing Christian songs, and feeling like my eternity was secure.
Whereas some people knew they were headed in the wrong direction, I thought everything was OK with me. I wasn't "seeking" God, or answers, or anything else. I was blissfully unaware of my need.
And that's why I believe God's grace is so amazing in my story.
God looked on me from heaven and saw a little lost girl - who had no idea she was lost. He saw a girl who was walking toward a Christ-less eternity - who didn't even know it. God saw a girl who simply didn't know how much she didn't know. And some twenty-five years ago HE opened her eyes to the Truth. It wasn't a dramatic conversion, rather an understanding of the complete Truth - followed by an obedient and transformed heart.
The little lost girl was found. Her eternal address was changed to Heaven. And God continues to this day to teach her the things she doesn't know.

And that is amazing grace.

How have you experienced God's amazing grace in your life?