1217 3 Minute Spaghetti Tiny Chef Edition

"For much of my life, I operated with a deep, quiet question: 'Who am I?' No one had ever handed me the manual. I felt like a puzzle assembled without the picture on the box. No matter where I turned or what path I tried—including paths of deep darkness—I found myself circling back, almost against my own will, to one source: the Bible. It was a relentless, gentle pull. It wasn't until I was in my 50s that I had the clarity to name what was happening. My search wasn't for fame, fortune, or to elevate myself. It was a search for foundational instruction. I was looking for my Creator's original intent, because I had never been taught my own identity. Let me be unequivocally clear: In searching the Scripture for myself, I was not looking to find that I was a god. I was looking to find that I was His. I was looking for the design specs in the Designer's manual. And I found them—not as a list of rules, but as a love letter and a blueprint for the soul. I discovered that we are born with instructions. They are encoded in His Word. The Bible became my daily guide, my mirror, and the only place where the fragmented pieces of my story made sense in the light of Jesus Christ. He showed me who I was by showing me who He is. This journey has also led me to understand the spiritual weight of the world we live in. I was born on December 17, 1967. In our current culture, we see how symbols and numbers, like '67, can be hijacked, assigned dark meanings, and used to open doors to things that were never meant to be entertained. It's a stark reminder that words and symbols have power. It taught me to be fiercely intentional about what I allow to shape my identity and my space. My only safe harbor was found in the authority and the clarity of Christ. This path of finding my true self in Christ has also meant making peace with my own limitations. I have loved, I have fought, and I have tried to be a refuge. But there comes a point when you realize that your own strength is not enough to save everyone you love. Trying to operate in a realm of darkness to help others nearly cost me my own soul—it wasn't where I belonged, and frankly, I was not welcomed there. Now, I face one of the most difficult surrenders of my life. My grandchildren are facing a hard road, one that may lead them into the foster care system. The world would call me to crumble under this. But my faith instructs me differently. After a lifetime of trying to be the savior, I have finally learned that is a role I was never meant to play. That title, that job, belongs solely to Jesus Christ. So, I am making the agonizing but clear-hearted choice to step back. Not out of lack of love, but out of a profound trust. I am entrusting them to the Lord and to the systems He can work through. I cannot watch the storm tear them apart while I pretend I have the power to stop it. My peace comes from knowing I am placing them, and myself, in the hands of my Lord and Savior. My mission is no longer to fix everything, but to faithfully exemplify what it means to be a daughter of God, anchored in His Word. This isn't a story of giving up. This is a testimony of giving over. I found myself not by looking within, but by looking upward. And from that place, I can finally say: I know who I am today. I am His." "For much of my life, I operated with a deep, quiet question: 'Who am I?' No one had ever handed me the manual. I felt like a puzzle assembled without the picture on the box. No matter where I turned or what path I tried—including paths of deep darkness—I found myself circling back, almost against my own will, to one source: the Bible. It was a relentless, gentle pull. It wasn't until I was in my 50s that I had the clarity to name what was happening. My search wasn't for fame, fortune, or to elevate myself. It was a search for foundational instruction. I was looking for my Creator's original intent, because I had never been taught my own identity. Let me be unequivocally clear: In searching the Scripture for myself, I was not looking to find that I was a god. I was looking to find that I was His. I was looking for the design specs in the Designer's manual. And I found them—not as a list of rules, but as a love letter and a blueprint for the soul. I discovered that we are born with instructions. They are encoded in His Word. The Bible became my daily guide, my mirror, and the only place where the fragmented pieces of my story made sense in the light of Jesus Christ. He showed me who I was by showing me who He is. This journey has also led me to understand the spiritual weight of the world we live in. I was born on December 17, 1967. In our current culture, we see how symbols and numbers, like '67, can be hijacked, assigned dark meanings, and used to open doors to things that were never meant to be entertained. It's a stark reminder that words and symbols have power. It taught me to be fiercely intentional about what I allow to shape my identity and my space.