17

 Last night as I was driving home from taking my 17 year old niece to get maternity clothes, listening to KLOVE I heard a great message.  They said, God uses our brokenness to help change others. (Since I was driving it is not a direct quote but the idea is huge).  God can use our past sins, our pain, our bad times to help someone else get through theirs.  

My niece is in the same position as when I was 16, struggling to graduate, find money to support the new baby on the way, and working on building a relationship.  Although I had talked to her a lot about not getting pregnant and telling her to wait, I can't help but understand because I have been there.  There is nothing that she can do now to change the past and I feel that she needs lots of support to help her through a hard time ahead.  While my parents were helpful with me, it would have been nice to have a supporter.  Someone who wasn't telling you all the time that you were making a huge mistake and your life was over, nothing would ever be the same.  I knew that but I still wanted someone to tell me that with hard work and love I could do it.  That is why when Klove came on and said that, I prayed.  I prayed that my niece would know that we love her, we are here for her, and I prayed that we could help show her God's love and that she would come to know him and raise her baby to know God.  It took me awhile to find these things and I think that God will help me to get close to her from my past brokenness.  Please pray that I would be able to bring her to Jesus and that she will see all that God can do for her. 

Forever Changing,
Liz