My name is Kathleen Dunn. I have been married to my husband Richard for 11 years. We have four children together. My stepson is 12 years old, and we have an 11-year-old son, a 7-year-old son, and a 5-year-old daughter! 

I grew up in a Christian home, going to church every Sunday, thinking I knew Who God was. The God I thought I knew was up there pointing a finger at me when I wronged Him and only really loving me when I was acting correctly. He was a conditional God, and the Bible was a rule book. As I grew up, I rebelled against the things I knew were right. I was walking in a lot of sin - alcohol, drugs, and sexual impurity. I was seeking my identity in men and really running after all the worldly desires. Those desires satisfied me in the moment, but never gave me the acceptance and love that only God can give. 

In my last year of college, I do feel that God pulled me from the wreckage of brokenness and confusion. I ended up getting pregnant, and God immediately took everything away from me that I was finding comfort in that wasn't Him. Luke 15:4 says, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” God came after me, the lost sheep, and helped me see His way. Grace truly rewrote my story. He worked through my suffering to reveal His glory and to draw me closer to Him. 

After finding out this news that I was going to be a mom, I felt alone, isolated, and lost. It was the first time I sat down and opened my Bible. Since then, God has revealed Himself. He loves me IN my brokenness. He wants so badly for us to have a relationship with Him. I have learned the Bible (which is absolutely TRUE!) is a love letter to us with stories of broken people that Jesus continues to love, comfort, and heal. 

During my pregnancy, I graduated college and immediately got married to Richard. Through the beginning stages of our marriage, we walked through conflict, heartbreak, finding out that he had another son, jail time, financial stress, among many other challenges that were not my will. During this time, I clung to the verse Galatians 6:9: “Do not grow weary of doing good, for in due time you will reap a harvest.” God in His kindness helped me walk through these stages of life, and now I can clearly see that God indeed “works ALL things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) 

Since walking with the Lord by seeking a relationship with Him daily, I see the harvest little by little in my life. The harvest of a joyful and restored marriage, of reconciled relationships that I thought were beyond repair, and the harvest of truly giving my life over to Him and walking in His ways - even when it looked crazy to the world. I am so thankful for God's overwhelming love, grace, and restoration in my life. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. How have you seen God restore something in your life that you thought was beyond repair? 

2. Can you think of a time when Jesus saved you from a path of destruction? 

3. How has God worked in your brokenness to make His name great?