What The?!!!!!!!!

Where I come from they say you ain't leavin unless it's in a body bag.

Fulton Industrial Boulevard and the corner of Wendell Drive.

I was in Atlanta with Sharon the other day and went to the west side to take the tags off Kitty Tangerine, the Cadillac I bought so my husband wouldn't steal my truck.  Sure enough the back windshield out of it, but I gave it to his sister, so she can strip it down for parts for her caddy.  I'm through with it.

The corner in the picture I've walked thousands of times.

2000 to 2004 I lived on this street, five blocks to the left, three blocks to the right.  I camped way up in the woods two blocks, across the street from this very spot.

West side.

I told her we would see someone I knew and sure enough there was Gutley, my favorite dope boy back in the day, fourteen years later, still down there selling dope.  He probably remembered me after we drove away.  Saw two other guys I knew when I was down there, lots of girls on the street.

It didn't affect me the way some might think it would.  I have never struggled with it, never cared anything else about it and God has given me the most beautiful life to live.

You can't be sentimental about it and why would you?  That life totally sucked!  There was nothing fun in that life.

So there I was driving my girl through the trap I come from, unafraid, no nervousness in my stomach, just driving through.

I have some folks that are headed there on Saturday to rescue girls, so it's profound I was just through there two days ago.

I'm so glad I got out.

I'm so glad there's a God that can bring them all out.

So thankful He never let anyone hurt me.

So thankful my kid is okay.

So thankful for absolutely everything I've been through.

When you find out who you are and whose you are, there's no way you would ever go back.

It's not in your dna to quit or be enslaved.

You're hard wired for victory.

He kept me.

It's the only way I'm still here today.

He's brought me a mighty long way and we've got so far to go.

With that street in mind, I go to them.  I go to the places that so remind me of there, where there are people in the same situation.  I go to them, looking like Jesus, with love overflowing out of my heart.

They are my people.

The FIB the big fat lie made me who I am today, gave me a story to tell, a purpose in life and a schooling of hard knocks so tough God literally sent some folks to come get me.

I'm overwhelmed with love and awe of Him.

It's so beautiful!

That life turned into ministry for me.

Renegades of Grace Ministries was born out of that nightmare I lived.

How cool is that?!

He kept me for such a time as this.

Our stories are the same, the only difference is the details.

Never be ashamed of what God has brought you out of.  It was His good pleasure to rescue His child and give them beauty for their ashes.

He took something ugly and twisted and turned it into the most beautiful love story and it's still being written every single day.

I'm that woman at Jesus' feet, the broken allibaster box on the ground next to me, weeping.

Pure outrageous unbelievable romance.

I'm a real life walking talking bible character and the book of Acts will never stop being written.

Love wins!  Love wins!  Love wins!

Fulton Industrial Boulevard, where they say you ain't leavin unless it's in a body bag, brought me into my purpose for the kingdom, where they say we're gonna live forever:  brought me into today, still hitting the streets, still being love

God is so good and live is worth living.