Sandi Patty - Falling Forward: ...into His Arms of Grace

falling forward

...into His arms of grace

Sandi Patty

Copyright 2007 by Sandi Patty

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bibles Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.

Other references are from the following sources: The Message (MSG), copyright 1993. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Patty, Sandi.
Falling forward / Sandi Patty.
p. cm.
ISBN-10: 0-8499-1886-3 (trade paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8499-1886-5 (trade paper)
1. Failure (Psychology)Religious aspectsChristianity. 2. SufferingReligious aspects
Christianity. 3. HealingReligious aspectsChristianity. 4. Christian life. I. Title.
BT730.5.P38 2007
248.8'6dc22

2007001539

Printed in the United States of America
07 08 09 10 11 RRD 5 4 3 2 1

I sincerely and humbly thank Women of Faith for
letting me fall into their hearts. I have truly found a home.

I lovingly dedicate this book to anyone who has fallen
and thought they would never get up. Hallelujah for
second, third, fourth... and many more chances!

contents

Into His Redemptive Arms
by Patsy Clairmont

M oving ahead while being aware of the scrutiny of others is not easy. To begin anew takes a mixture of courage and humility. It also takes a growing awareness that God is on our side, that He not only has forgiven us, but He supports us during our shaky transitions. I have found that integrating the Lords new mercies into our life walk takes time, while we are stumbling about in our humanity, trying to grasp that we could possibly be offered yet another chance.

Once we own our mistakes and our failures, the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. We meant to be more. We meant to do better. Yet somewhere along the path we veered, and Good Shepherd that He is, aware of our willful tendencies, the Lord passionately pursues us until we are safely back in the fold.

I have watched my friend Sandi make her way back, not only to the safety of Gods forgiveness, but to the liberty of His calling on her life. And I have celebrated the obvious working of His Spirit in Sandis inner life, expanding her grace, mercy, and compassion toward others.

Sandi has a heart for those who have veered and are trying to regain their footing on the narrow pathand really, isnt that all of us? How this must please the Father to see His dear daughter tenderly regard others. The pages ahead are full of vulnerability and kindness. You wont feel judged, I assure you. This book has been dipped deep in Gods immeasurable love.

Its noteworthy to recognize the way we often learn how great and deep and wide the love of God is: by falling forward into His redemptive arms.

Patsy

D ear Reader,

You and I may not have met, but the fact that youre interested in taking this journey of Falling Forward with me hints that we may have something in common. Though we may have walked completely different paths to get here, we each find ourselves in need of healing, in need of the big, wide-open arms of the Savior to comfort us and restore us to wholeness. I hope Im able to offer you some encouragement and inspiration and maybe even a little understanding. So, first, I want to welcome you with a great big virtual *HUG* and an assurance: Youre safe here.

Were going to talk about some of the nitty-gritty details of recovering from a major life crisis, and were going to get real about how it feels to fail in some way. Since this book is all about honesty, Ill start by filling you in on a few details about myself. Im sure some of you have been familiar with my name and perhaps even followed my story ever since my first album was released back in 1979. But many more of you may know nothing about me, so Ill give you the thumbnail sketch.

Throughout the 1980s and early 90s, I was a young wife, mother, and Christian recording artist, living what looked like an exemplary Christian life. However, behind the scenes I had been struggling, and by 1993 I was separated from my husband and in love with another man. Eventually, amid great scandal and the loss of my career as a singer, I was divorced and then later remarried to my husband, Don, to whom Ive been married for twelve years (at the time of this books release).

My previous book, Broken on the Back Row, chronicles the years from my first recording contract up through my divorce. It also covers my process of repentance, restitution, and restoration, and my marriage to Don. Another book, Life in the Blender, continues the story as Don and I blended our families (we have eight children between us) and began moving on from those early days of heartache and confusion. In that book, you can read about all of my children and how we manage to run our crazy household.

The book you hold in your hands is not so much a chronicle as it is a travel companion for you as you navigate your own process of recovery and renewal. Im looking back over the last fourteen years of my life and recounting what Ive learned about how to recapture life again. It is only due to the unbelievable grace and forgiveness of our loving God that any of this has been possible, and my desire to serve Him by serving others motivates this writing.

So lets just sit back with our latts, put our feet up, and enjoy spending this time together. I am praying that as you read this, youll find the strength and the confidence to fall forward into the loving arms of your Savior. Hes waiting for you!

Ill see you there.

Many blessings,
Sandi

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

PSALM 18:32

I t felt so right, this moment my daughter had been dreaming about since childhood. Wasnt it yesterday she was playing princess in my white satin slip, her tiny feet precariously planted in my sparkly stage heels as she shuffled down the hall, an old swatch of nylon net bobby-pinned to her dark brown curls? Along with thousands of little girls throughout the ages, Anna had anticipated her wedding day, practiced it over and over in her head, and longed for it to be absolutely perfect. Shed be the perfect bride; her sweetheart, the perfect groom; both surrounded by their perfect family as they headed off into a blissfully perfect future.

The day was turning out just as shed hoped: absolutely, positively perfectas long as your definition of perfect is as broad as ours has come to be. My understanding of perfection has certainly changed over the last eleven years of adjusting to and enjoying a second marriage, along with our beloved blended (and sometimes, chopped and pureed) family.

As I sat in the front pew, it was such an honor, privilege, and yes, relief, to be the one sitting below the stage with my daughter as the center of attention. All eyes were on Anna, resplendent in her elegant off-white mermaid gown. The siblings and stepsiblings were lined up as attendants, the girls looking magnificent in pale sage gowns. Anna and her handsome groom, Collin, had just knelt face-to-face at the little altar to begin taking communion. Then, something happened (doesnt something