For the past couple of weeks I’ve been experiencing a deep appreciation for the goodness of God in my life.

I am a Christian, but messages are coming from all around me—church, Facebook, Instagram, streamingservices, TV—seem to be leading me to answer one question. “What kind of Christian am I?”

I say I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I know that is true. I say I have devoted myself to Him, have turned from my wicked ways and have become a new person because of his amazing grace.

But has this change been manifested in my life? What does this change look like? Have I really become more like Christ over the years?

It’s been 37 years since this change began. And yes, I have changed.

How have I changed? We’ll, some things are obvious. I’ve stopped hanging at the places I used to hang out and stopped hanging with the people I used to hang with and stopped doing many things I used to do. I have read and studied under some amazing pastors and teachers as the various churches I have attended groups and done individual Bible studies that were very helpful to me in my faith walk. All these things have helped me know Christ better.

Since early childhood and into my recent adulthood, the actions of people who we’re supposed to love me succeeded in removing one precious thing from the fabric of my existence. As a result of the absence of this precious element, I inflicted many hurts and harms upon the people that I love the most, to my deepest regret. May God’s all-encompassing grace encapsulate them as they heal from those hurts.

This past weekend my church, Allegheny Center Alliance Church on Pittsburgh’s North Side, had a guest speaker. Jerrel Gilliam, Executive Director of Light of Life Rescue Mission presented a very thought provoking and heart wrenching message about the needs of the homeless and how to address them.

One term he used to describe what hurting people lack—and need— is DIGNITY.

That’s it!!! That’s what those people took from me!! That’s what I took from others!!

Dignity is what God has restored in me and what helped me recover from those hurts.

That’s who I am now.

I am a sinner saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus, being led by the instruction and counsel of the Holy Spirit. I am His child who has regained the precious gift of DIGNITY available to each if us if we know how to find it.

This is a precious, life-affirming and even life-saving gift we can offer to others.

That is who I am. I am a woman of dignity because of God’s grace to me. He has healed me, taught me to set healthy boundaries and opened my heart to share that gift with others.

I give Him all the praise and glory as he continues his mighty work in me as I strive to become more like him.