An email from “B”

Happy Thursday, everybody! We wanted to take a minute and share an email with you.

A little background on this…We are having the guys from Adam’s Road come to our house on Monday along with Lynn Wilder, author of Unveiling Grace. The dinner and dessert is designed to allow some of our previous Transitions class attendees to have an opportunity to meet them personally and ask questions. One of the previous Transitioners sent us back this email. Unfortunately, he will not be able to join us on Monday. Still, his email made our day!

This is why we are in Utah. This is why God has called us here. This is how God is moving.

“Barry and Jennifer,

I really appreciate you including me on the invite to come and meet the Wilder’s. Unfortunately I am flying to San Jose that afternoon on a business trip and will not be able to make it.

I give all glory to God, but I know with all of my heart that in the beginning of my transition it was the Wilder family that His message of hope broke through my ugly sin and pride. I was so blind and deaf to truth.

I sit here writing this and weep. I weep because as an ex-LDS member I couldn’t relate to my Lord; He who died for me. I walked away from his grace. I was trying so hard to earn His love, to be good enough, to overcome my own sin, to save myself…. I always felt shame and never could seem to find my way out of the deep dark place of bondage I had found myself in.

I found the Wilder’s story. I listened to brave Micah tell how he found Jesus on his LDS mission. I listened to his mother and father, his brothers, and sister, and somehow I also felt brave.

I am not even sure that I believed then, but I went and read from the bible, I attended church at SMCC. I won’t lie, I was scared. It all seemed so scandalous. How could I be forgiven? I don’t deserve this. I deserve my shame, my guilt, and most definitely punishment. I am a sinner and I will not hide that. Even with that said, I began to feel a love, a forgiveness, an acceptance. I accepted Jesus. I cannot save myself. I lean on Jesus for my salvation alone. I surely don’t have all the answers now (nor do I know if I ever will), but I am trying to do the will of the Father.

I will forever be grateful to the Wilder family for their brave and honest testimony. I don’t personally know them, but they feel like friends to me. A church family in Christ. I look at them and see the beautiful work that God is performing in their lives and in the lives of others, and I pray that God blesses them. Thank you again for the invitation. My apologies for the story, just felt the need to share. 

B….”