People have an innate desire for a defined identity and a sense of belonging. This project began as a way for the author to explore his personal search for identity and perhaps find some value in the experiences, good and bad, which have shaped him. What he found was a story that is not simply personal but universal, a story which he believes the Lord has given him to tell those who have ears to hear it.
For those of us who have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we understand that the Lord has the power to take even the darkest of times and use them for our good. We might not see the purpose and value of those times while we are in them, particularly when we survey our pre-salvation history, but nothing we have experienced has been an inconsequential matter of chance. Every smile, every tear, every victory, and every loss has brought each of us to where we are today by his design. These are the pieces that come together to create each of our unique mosaics.
This is the story of a man who has come to realize that his identity is not defined by a profession, a title, a dark family legacy, or even the sins that tempt him. His is the story of a child of God who understands the power of redemption not only to address the shadows of the past but also to shape and drive his hope for the future. This call from God for a man to understand his identity and purpose in Christ is a foretaste of the greater call for the Church to gain the same wisdom and to understand who she was designed and destined to be.