A New Narrative

If my heart could tell a story
If my life would sing a song
If I have a testimony
If I have anything at all

No one ever cared for me like Jesus
His faithful hand has held me all this way
And when I'm old and grey
And all my days are numbered on the earth
Let it be known in you alone
My joy was found

“No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus” by Steffany Gretzinger

Guest Writer: Chelsea Boon

If I’m being honest, and I might as well, my life up to this point has been comparable to a junk drawer of sorts. You know the drawer: it’s got all the things you forgot about, the pens that have run out of ink, maybe bits of paper you have to keep, some tape you use once a year. It’s a drawer that has a bunch of stuff in it that doesn’t belong and could really stand to be organized. 

Before I knew Jesus, I would’ve told you that my junk drawer for a life was ireedeemable. My family story is messy and hard to hold. Addiction ran itself through both sides of my family and it left no room for me. I had all these difficult and dark moments that just didn’t fit anywhere else. With nowhere to put it all, I stuffed everything in my junk drawer. 

By the time I started college, I’d determined that my life finally had a little too much junk in it. In order to be able to close this too-full, too-junked-up drawer of childhood experiences, I tried to organize all these memories by the narrative I knew to be true. 

No one would ever care for me like me. 

No one would ever provide for me like me. 

No one would ever love me like me. 

I thought this narrative was pretty sufficient, until the real truth made itself undeniable. Jesus came into my story and captivated my heart. In the gentle, protective way that only He can, Jesus addressed my narrative before He dealt with the junk. The kindest thing Jesus ever did for me was shift my perspective away from the junk drawer, and instead, move my eyes to meet Him. 

So what is God’s narrative and what does it say about His heart for us? I think we see it in a prayer from Paul in Ephesians 3.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

(Ephesians 3:17-21, emphasis added)

I praise God because I can see it now.

No one could ever care for me like Jesus.

No one could ever provide for me like Jesus. 

No one could ever love me like Jesus. 

Our Father is in the work of redeeming things and adding order where there’s chaos. Jesus has emptied out my junk drawer, and sorted out what can stay and what can go. In doing this, He rewrote my narrative: I’m rooted and established in God’s love for me; a love that’s so wide, long, high, and deep, that I can hardly understand it. No one ever cared for me like Jesus. 

Part of our worship is in the everyday invitation of the Holy Spirit, where we hand over our junk drawers with outstretched hands and allow him to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. 

Take a minute to breathe and invite the Holy Spirit to open your junk drawer. Bravely ask Him to empty it out with you. Ask Him what can stay and what can go, and allow Him to rewrite your narrative around the love He has for you. You won’t regret it.

Listen to the Song!

Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/album/no-one-ever-cared-for-me-like-jesus/1503028577?i=1503028589

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/track/2oIFaafMda5ATaMr2b9pK8?si=qzZ4XGa-RcamDjyvDe1ulA

YouTube - https://youtu.be/wapXZkU-jFM?si=QIXr0tsmFvuGdWAQ

ABOUT CHELSEA

Hi! I’m Chelsea, and I’m passionate about creating meaningful experiences with the gospel and walking alongside others on their journey with Jesus.

I first encountered God in small-town Alabama after stumbling into a random youth group. I was immediately captivated by the person of Jesus and found myself with an imagination for pastoral ministry. Following the path of God’s call has felt like putting one foot in front of the other, faithfully walking toward the next right thing.

I found my ministry footing in St. Louis, MO, where I attended Missouri Baptist University and received my Bachelor’s in Ministry and Leadership. There, I fell in love with a local church and developed a ministry for young adults. Through this experience, God began to plant the seeds of leadership, teaching, and shepherding.

One of my favorite quotes is from Frederick Buechner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” I have found profound joy in caring for the lost, the broken, and the grieving, and am looking forward to partnering with God for a lifetime of ministry.