Childhood--
a wonderful time;
I lived in a loving home where I was taught to pray
and go to church every Sunday. An innocent little girl
with pretty blond curls, not a care in the world…
that’s the way I was raised.

I grew up, naïve to a cold-hearted world
that embraced selfishness and material gain
like sunlight on a hot day. Soon, I found myself alone,
for society rejected all I had known;
laughed at my morals and corrupted pieces of me…
Everything inside that was pure and lovely.

Day by day, I came closer to a fate
that wrapped me in all consuming lies.
I was hypnotized by temptation.
Right before my eyes
I became a person I didn’t recognize.
I became what everyone wanted me to be.
I had no identity,
for I was a mirror
to what was around me.

What was once fun
became a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from…
a dizzying, sickening ride that wouldn’t end.
The life I was living--
it happened so fast,
like a slow but steady crash
on the highway to hell.
I couldn’t stop the headlights of sin
coming towards me in the night.
Instead, I succumbed to the evil that took over me.
Somewhere down the road, I lost control…
my life, no longer my own.

I had come to end of my rope so I cried out to the Lord.
I remembered that God was a God of hope.
I don’t even know the words that I said,
but I was led to pray
as I lay in my bed.
Broken and shattered…
I gave God my heart.

Jesus died on the cross to pay for my sin.
He died to take away my shame
and all of my pain.
I had too many sins to name, and
a shame that buried me,
but Jesus took that all away.
Such amazing grace that forgives
a sinner like me.
I will live with God eternally.

I am now joyful and happy.
My heart is changed.
My life transformed.
No longer a slave, I sing praises every day.
I am set free from sin that once chained me.
All I had to do was call on Jesus.
For by the power of His name,
I am forgiven,
I am saved.

Copyright Sara Linquist