In 2020, just prior to the COVID pandemic, I was on a relationship panel for college students as part of our church's college ministry, RealTalk. After the panel, we broke into gender-specific groups to continue the conversation. And from that, Real G.R.A.C.E.(Girls Redeemed Adopted Chosen Eternally) was born. Formed of college-aged women, the ladies of Real G.R.A.C.E. have become my girls! We are sisters in Christ, and some have become spiritual nieces and daughters as we intimately live this Christian life together. My dear friend and sister in Christ, Nicole B., and I hold regular Bible studies and attend local church services with the ladies. We discuss how we are applying scripture to our daily lives and conforming our worldviews to that of Christ. Fun activities like pajama parties, game nights and even just eating together, help break down some of the protective walls most have built over the years.

These 40 days of Lent are a time to remind us of the deep brokenness both in this world and in our own lives. It is a time designed for us to be mindful of the sin within, to be confessing before God the parts of us that keep us from the deep and transformative relationship with him that we were designed for. The idea behind giving something up is to look at our lives and see what has gotten in the way of that transformative relationship. There is a famous quote by St. Augustine that says, “The essence of sin is disordered love.” God ought to be the greatest love in our lives, far outweighing anything else. Sin comes into the picture when we allow anything else to experience greater love from us than God does. I think if we get really honest, we know that while we may claim with our mouths that he comes first, our lives often tell a different story.