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Ayesha, you are under arrest for violating the curfew, the words echo\ninside. Tomorrow you are sentenced to the Ocean of Mistakes. \u201cGod, please\nsave me,\u201d I pray. I\u2019ve been pleading all night in my prison cell. \u201cI know\nI\u2019ve failed. Please forgive me.\u201d\n.\nSunrise peeps through the window. CLANG. The door opens. My jailers clamp\nchains around my hands. The rule book is clipped to my clothes. Silence.\n.\nThey drag me, throwing me into an open top truck as an example for all to\nsee, a warning for others to avoid making the same mistake. Screaming and\ncrying rings in my ears, and with horror I realize they are my own tortured\nscreams. I can\u2019t take any more, I sob as the truck bounces along the\nuneven track to the sandy beach. I tried to follow your rules and\nregulations. I can\u2019t be perfect. Silence.\n.\nThe truck stops with a screech. I\u2019m carried onto the speed boat. Mouth dry,\nbile burns inside of me until we reach the ebony part of the ocean. Hands\ngrip mine. I taste salt and fear. Struggling, fighting to stay on the boat\nuntil weakness takes over. My body is thrown overboard. Icy water prickles\nmy skin. Gasping, flailing, tears pour down my face, the chains and the\nrule book drag me down. The boat speeds off in the distance, a tiny speck.\nHere, then gone.\n.\nAyesha, don\u2019t try to swim, calls a voice. \u201cAm I hallucinating?\u201d I wonder,\nchoking on the water. Suddenly the waves stop; a shining figure on the\nwater glides toward me. Stay calm.\n.\nJesus? I whisper. Jesus?\n.\nAyesha, I love you more than your mistakes, He says, love in His eyes,\nHis words breaking my chains. I heard your prayers. I forgive you. This is\na fresh start. Leave your old life behind. Follow me. His words of love\nshred the pages of the rule book until it disappears. Reaching out to me,\nHe grasps my hand. He leads me, and I follow Him to a fresh start and a new\nlife. Cindy Lee\n.\n Have you ever felt like you were drowning in guiltpulled down by the\nweight of your sin? It\u2019s never too late. God loves us deeply and sent His\nSon Jesus to die on the cross for sin and brokennessand rise from the dead\nto renew His creation and His people. Through Jesus, God heals our\nbrokenness. Consider taking a moment to bring any sin to Him and receive\nHis forgiveness.\n.\n he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:24 (NLT)\n\xa0\nRead Verses:\nPsalm 32:1-Psalm 32:7; Romans 3:23-Romans 3:28