In March of 2002, everything changed.

One night, I was partying in a groovy mountain town and halfway going to college and the next morning…

I was a 20-year-old mother.

How could this be?

(Well, contraception would have helped…)

I threw the stick on the floor and started screaming.

Terrified.

Then I heard it. Clear as can be.

God whispered to me,
“The baby’s name will be Jeremiah.”

He spoke to ME. A sad, searching, insecure girl who had abandoned Him for my own way.
For freedom, I had claimed.
Ironic, isn’t it?

Fifteen years ago… FIFTEEN YEARS.

(Am I really that old?)

Jeremiah didn’t seem a fitting name for a little girl, so it was Mayah instead.
It means “close to God” in Hebrew.

And that’s where she took me. So close to my God that I could feel Him. Just by being alive in my gut, she acted as a magnet, pulling me towards His Glory.

I fell in love with Jesus and He romanced my soul. I cried in His arms again and again… and He comforted me, laying down next to me as I learned to fall asleep sober. He brought peace that can’t be explained.

He convinced me of His goodness with His unending grace and mercy, poured out like water every time my flesh got in the way of our relationship. He still does this. He always will. Hallelujah.

Here’s what has always amazed me, all these 15 long years…

What the enemy meant for my destruction, God made into a footstool for me to step on so that I could see over the walls of my self-built prison and finally find His glorious freedom.

Fifteen years ago, I thought my world had ended. But, only for a moment. He made it very clear that my adventure was only beginning.

Jeremiah 29: 11-13

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Whatever you're going through, no matter how lost you may be or impossible your circumstances seem, I want to assure you with the authority of Christ himself that God is able. He is eager to rescue. Lift up your head and see your Papa waiting to hold you close and tell you everything is going to be great. 

If you need encouragement, please email me. (hello@tiamcnelly.com) I want you to know that there is Hope. I'm praying for you, reader.