My Soul Friend

I have experienced homelessness. Twice. The first time was when, as a teen, I was forced out of my home in the barrio (neighborhood) of San Antonio’s West Side. I fell into the hands of unscrupulous and shady characters who promised me love, only to discover dead ends and empty promises. The second time, after becoming a Christian, was when I had to flee for safety from an abusive relationship. Although similar in nature due to the traumatic and painful events, both were quite different. In the first, I had no one to depend upon to help me—in the spiritual sense. In the second, those days were also filled with terror as in the first case; however, I had Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I began to trust Him more and looked to Him to help me get through that heart-wrenching time. I believed I wasn’t alone.

With homelessness and its insidious partner hopelessness, I became entangled in a never-ending cycle of despair and defeat. After years of living aimlessly and without purpose, I invited Jesus Christ into my heart upon hearing of our heavenly Father’s incomparable love and care for me through His Son. Slowly, I began to learn of the many ways He sees me as His cherished and beloved child. He will not discard me, as others have done, to fend for myself. Through these experiences, I have discovered that He does not want any of us, who are created in His image, to live beneath our God-given dignity or to create self-inflicted pain that destroys and disregards our worth and beauty as His creation.

You may ask why, if I say God is with me, did I have to go through the heartache and trauma of those past events. The answer is simple: I don’t know. However, as time passed, I discovered some things that became vividly clear to me. First, as I studied His Word, the Bible, I learned that He does not abandon His children. I myself made poor choices that led me to my crisis points to my own harm and detriment. God was not to blame because I had the power and will to choose. Secondly, this is the reason for writing this book, and that is to be a source of hope and encouragement to those who are facing hopelessness and who are at the brink of despair as I once had been. Because of what I have gone through, I can humbly and respectfully share with you my story, along with others, of my love relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He can comfort and lead you on a path to victory and abundant living, free from the bondages that enslave and entangle you. Christ is the only One who can help those whose hearts and souls need mending. Just as He did for me, He will do the same for you.

In the decades of my faith journey in Christ and studying His Word—His love letter—I am discovering the true character of our heavenly Father, rich in mercy, and of His immeasurable love for each and every one of us, no matter our nationality, religion, ethnicity or background.

I would like to share the following thirty-one-day devotional so that you too may get to know personally the great Lover of our souls through the scripture verses presented for each day. In Part 1, we will look at some of the facets of God’s love as seen in Jesus Christ—loving, merciful, forgiving, patient, kind, and so much more. His Word in Hebrews 1:3 (NIV) states that “the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.” In other words, in Christ Jesus, we see the nature of God the Father.

In Part 2, we will read what He thinks about you, His priceless and precious creation, being made in His image, and His limitless love for you. You will be amazingly and pleasantly surprised.

Part 3 will explain how we can choose to invite Christ into our hearts and to walk daily with Him, living a life that is victorious, abundant, and full of joy and peace, all for His glory.

My desire is that you be blessed by knowing our glorious God Who pours out His unfailing love upon us through His Son, Jesus Christ, the gateway to hope. In your faith journey, may He be your strength, your source, your supplier, and your dearest and best friend—your Soul Friend.