Rainy Days to Redemption
Psalm 86:12-13 — With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.
Seventeen years ago is when I hit rock bottom. I was addicted to drugs and far from Jesus. Those were my rainy days. And you know, rainy days… they have a way of doing something to you. They strip you down. They show you what’s real.
I was a crazy party girl. And somehow, that’s the very place where everything started changing. Not all at once—but enough for God to get my attention.
I heard someone say once that the valley of weeping is what we must pass through on our way to God. And oh boy… I lived there for a while. Long enough to know what it feels like when the tears don’t fix anything. Long enough to know what it feels like to be completely empty.
But when I look back now, I can see it—God was pursuing me the whole time.
People ask me if I would change anything. And it sounds crazy, but no… I wouldn’t. Because it was there—in that lowest place—that everything changed.
When I almost died from an accidental overdose, I was in a coma. The doctors said I wasn’t going to make it. I opened my eyes just long enough to see my brother saying goodbye to me.
But Jesus had other plans. And in that moment—somewhere between life and death—He came to me.
Clear, personal, and close.
He asked me, “Are you done?”
I knew exactly what He meant.
I said, “Oh yes. I am.” Because I was. Done running, done numbing, and surviving the very life that was killing me.
And I woke up. Not just physically. Something deeper than that. Something I can’t fully explain, but I know it when I see it now.
Ever since then, my life has been different. Not perfect, but different. There’s a gratitude in me now that I didn’t have before. There’s a kind of love in me now that runs deeper than emotion—like my whole life finally has direction.
And when I think about it, it’s like my heart learned how to thank God from the inside out because I was rescued from a place I couldn’t escape on my own.
And He can do that for you too.
Maybe things in your life aren’t as extreme as mine were… or maybe they are. Maybe something in you feels like it’s flatlining. But here’s what I know.
There is no place too far gone for Jesus to step in, no life too broken for Him to restore when you finally surrender it to Him. So, if there’s anything you’ve been trying to manage, numb, or outrun… you don’t have to carry it anymore.
Sometimes the simplest surrender looks like “I’m done.”
And right there—in that surrendered place—He meets you.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Have you ever experienced a season where you felt completely empty or far from God?
- What are some things people commonly try to “numb” or outrun instead of surrendering to God?
- How does Brenda’s story reflect God’s rescuing love in Psalm 86:12-13?
- Is there an area of your life where you need to stop striving and simply say, “I’m done”?
- What would wholehearted gratitude toward God look like in your life today?
