Today’s story comes from a young woman who literally embodies an otherworldly kind of purity. If you didn’t know her story, you would think she was the most innocent young adult you might ever meet. Her love for Jesus, and her response to His Spirit in her life, are inspiring even to those who have walked with Him for decades. She has been a sign and a wonder in our midst, demonstrating the purity of God’s grace in a way that makes others hungry to know the same.
Knowing her story makes her that much more incredible, and puts on display the power of God’s amazing love at work in a heart that yields itself to Him. Her story makes the healing of God a very present reality for all who know her. And the joy she carries literally radiates on her face. Knowing her convinces me that there is nothing Jesus cannot do, and that, indeed, He brings beauty out of ashes.
I hope her story will encourage you to bring your hurts and devastations to Jesus, and to believe that He can make all things new. The torments of our past do not have to maintain their hold on our lives, if we will just give them to Him, and open ourselves up to His perfect love. What He has done for her, He waits to do for us all!
“My name is Eslym Whaley and this is my resurrection story…
When I was about 4 to 5 years old, I was molested. Such an action introduced to such a little mind, still pure in understanding this new world, perverted my perception of life. Little did I know that such an action would bring about years of struggle to understand and possess that childlike purity once again. Little did I know that Someone whom I had not met yet in my early years would restore that back to me.
After being molested, my adolescent life gravitated into a spiral of lust and loneliness. My sense of worth was twisted around the specifications of the world’s image of a lady: her body. Yet, those specifications were something I could never attain to, and it drove me into the hands of insecurity and comparison. Stepping into the 7th grade, I was brought into a Christian School where something in me began to awaken. I began to learn about Someone I had never known before, and faith began to take root in my heart.
Something in me began to yearn in reaching out for help as the years progressed, but my thoughts were the loudest voice I had. I feared people would judge me or leave me, though I did not have anyone I could wholeheartedly trust at the time. Still, I was afraid people would go against me for struggling with such a tainted mind. I wrestled in wanting to feel worthy, in wanting feel like I belonged, in wanting to feel… Loved.
At 14 years old, I stepped foot onto church grounds and began attending their youth group. It was at that place that this Someone I had learned about at school became real to me. I came to understand and believe that He treasured and loved me so much, and that He had erased death’s mark upon my life through His own blood. Faith led me to this Lover of my Soul who could purify me once again, which was something my heart had ached for. Because of this, I gave my life to Him, to Jesus Christ.
My walk became an overwhelmingly intimate relationship with God, and He ever so gently, yet progressively began to cleanse my heart and mind and restore my purity. The process was not easy; impure thoughts would come, the worrying over what people might think of me, and the comparisons that still rose up from time to time were mentally draining. But His healing still continues on.
My junior and senior year were the hardest to endure. Jesus walked with me through a grave time of heartache as His hand was uprooting what had been slowly destroying my heart since childhood. He taught me in that time that He will always be the Love my soul always yearned for. His Love alone permeates beyond human comprehension. During this hardship, this scripture unceasingly encouraged me:
Romans 8:38-39 (NLT): “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below- indeed, nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Now I definitely am not the same person I once was. Jesus, the Love of my Life has and is restoring my purity. My innocence has been resurrected and my identity is treasured in His love. I have never been so joyful as I am now. With that, what I leave with you with today is the promise and encouragement that He can do the same for you. To God be the glory.”
{Photo images courtesy of http://www.pixabay.com}
She Dances Over Graves 