You don't have to have a perfect past to be loved by God. That's why Jamie Ivey lays her past bare in her book If You Only Knew. Ivey proves that someone as imperfect as her, someone who sinned as much as her, could still be loved by God. Throughout sin after sin, God still pursued Jamie and brought her to where she is today - wife to a pastor, mom of four, and popular podcaster. And in her publicly telling her past, she hopes that you will come to know what it took her years to realize: God loves you where you are. You've been forgiven.Ivey quotes a couple songs in this book (one of which, "Come Thou Fount", is definitely a favorite of mine, and I realized I hadn't even really been paying that much attention to the words!), but reading this book reminded me of the Tenth Avenue North song "You Are More". If you're not familiar, here is the chorus:
You are more than the choices that you've made
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes
You are more than the problems you create
You've been remade
This book is honest, and part of that honesty and transparency is realizing that you, too, need to be honest and transparent. If you're reading this book as part of a book club, that could be the perfect supportive space to get the ball rolling! Because in sharing your experiences and day-to-day ups and downs, your vulnerability is creating closeness. And that closeness is also bringing you closer to God. Your friends are really getting to know you, all of you, and you'll be really getting to know God.
If You Only Knew if published by B&H Publishing Group and is on bookstore shelves now. I received a free copy at BookExpo.
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