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b'\\u201cBreathe.\\u201d Emotions shake my entire body\\u2014anger, grief, pain. How could it have ended this way? \\u201cBreathe in, breathe out.\\u201d\\nHe was my everything. My past, present, and future. He was my hope. \\u201cBreathe in, breathe out.\\u201d\\nIt is my fault. I turned my back on Him. I ran away. Now, it hurts to gulp in air. It\\u2019s like I\\u2019m drowning. This is what I wanted, once upon a time. I wanted to be allowed to do what I wanted\\u2014I called that \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153freedom.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d But I have never felt so chained and heavy in my life. \\u201cBreathe. Breathe. Breathe.\\u201d\\nSin, repent, ask forgiveness, receive, repeat. Every time, I told myself, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153This is it. No more.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d But the cycle continued. And now I am shattering all alone because I chased Him away and chose sin instead. A sob seizes my shoulders. How could Jesus love me still?\\n\\u201cBreathe. Just breathe, beloved.\\u201d\\nThe voice I\\u2019m hearing isn\\u2019t mine. I certainly don\\u2019t see myself as beloved. It\\u2019s His voice. I would know it anywhere. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153You,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d I whisper, tasting salt. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153What are You doing here? How are You still here?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\u201cI promised to never leave you. I meant it. Breathe. You are forgiven because of My work on the cross. I died and rose again to beat sin and death. Your faith is in Me\\u2014 and not in your successes or failures.\\u201d\\nI sit up, pulling my shoulders together, making myself smaller as if I could somehow hide from Him. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153But I broke my promises to You.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\u201cI am not you. I am perfect, and I am faithful to My promises. I will never turn My back on you. Breathe. Stand. Come home.\\u201d\\nI pull myself to my feet. Next time I fail, I\\u2019m running straight to the Savior who is faithful to forgive. \\u2022 Rebecca Roskamp\\n\\u2022 Because of Jesus\\u2019 death and resurrection, as Christians, can we do anything to separate us from Christ\\u2019s love for us (Romans 8:38-39)? \\n\\u2022 Jesus promises to finish the work He started in His people (Philippians 1:6). Read Hebrews 4:14-16 and 1 John 1:9\\xe2\\u20ac\\u201c2:1. If we fall into sin, why is it so important to run to Jesus, our Savior? \\nFor he himself [God] has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Hebrew 13:5b (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nPsalm 38:21; 103:12; Hebrews 13:5; 2 Timothy 2:8-13'