Based in the desert of West Texas, Amara Bratcher is a full-time student minister who also writes, takes pictures and volunteers with at-risk children. She has written a book entitled The Bridge That Love Built for adopted kids who have gaps in the early years of their lives. She likes her coffee French Pressed and wears her hair curly 365 days a year. 

an "even if" story

The lesson I am preparing to teach has a bulleted section labeled:
BE VULNERABLE.
This will be interesting, I think.
Consider sharing your own ‘even if He doesn’t’ story.

How much time do you have?

I have watched people I love die. I loved Him still.
I listened to diagnoses that rewrote the trajectory of my life. I loved Him still.
I sacrificed the school I chose, the degree I wanted. I loved Him still.
I desperately wanted a job that was withheld. I loved Him still.
I lived with a salary that didn’t cover my bills. I loved Him still.
I was routinely passed over for financial advancement because I was not head of household. I loved Him still.
I watched others’ decisions become my problems. I loved Him still.
I was subjected to years of second hand trauma, rewriting my genetic code. I loved Him still.
I know the cycle of addiction. I loved Him still.
I witnessed the loss of lifelong relationships for false gods and pet preferences. I loved Him still.
I entered counseling because of the church but never spoke ill of her. I loved Him still.
I long to be a wife and watch girls just out of their teens become them while I am not. I love Him still.
I long to be a mother while the years of my fertility wane. I love Him still.

My life is the story.
It has not been written the way I expected. The way I have prayed. The way I have pleaded.
Did God give me a bad story? I once asked through suffocated sobs.
Even if He did, I love Him.

A Valentine's Story

with