If you only knew who I am, what I’ve done, you wouldn’t think of me the same way.
Has this thought ever crossed your mind before? I know it’s crossed mine. Sometimes I’m afraid of people knowing me, really knowing me. I try to protect myself by putting up a wall and pretending that I’m the perfect, happy church girl. But I’m not perfect, and life isn’t always happy.
Can you relate? We’re afraid what might happen when people know the real us. In our minds, we’ve labeled ourselves with little letter pins. L for loser. U for ugly. S for shame. D for depressed. A for anxiety, addict, or alone. W for worthless or weak. F for failure or fraud. We hate these pins, but we feel like they’re just a part of who we are. So, we hide ourselves. We hide our stories.
But Jamie Ivey teaches that we shouldn’t hide ourselves. We shouldn’t hide our stories. Why? Because our stories, though they may be dark and lonely at times, are stories of God’s amazing faithfulness. When we reveal our stories to others, God is able to shine His light through us. And often the people we tell our stories to have stories that are more similar to ours than we think.
In If You Only Knew, Jamie tells her own story of seeking love and acceptance wherever she could find it and discovering that it is only God that can truly satisfy all her desires. She reminds her readers that God knows every dirty detail about us, yet He still loves us and pursues us. Those who have faith in God are forgiven of every single sin, and they are freed from all guilt, shame, and condemnation. Their identity is not defined by their past or by the pins they’ve put on themselves. Their identity is defined by Christ, and they are children of God. Of course, nobody is perfect, even after they’re saved. We still sin and make mistakes. We are not good enough. But we must keep saying,
“I’m not good enough, but Jesus is better.” (1)
Jesus is better, and this gives us hope for freedom and forgiveness.
Jamie is real and transparent as she tells her unlikely, unavoidable story of becoming free and encourages others to do the same. Her story is amazing, and this book is perfect for every woman who struggles with their past and sharing their story.
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- Jamie Ivey, If You Only Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2018), 211.
