This is from our most recent prayer letter. Hope you enjoy it.
“DAVE I FEEL LIKE I’m teething. Like I’ve just been born and am feeling the pain of teething.” Jacob, or at least that’s what we’ll call him, shared this with me just the other day. He said he is teething spiritually. He is becoming more and more aware of the consequences of the sins in his life and is genuinely repenting for them. A couple weeks after returning from our winter conference Jacob and I sat down to talk and he opened up for the first time, sharing his burdens and regrets. We talked for several hours about what has plagued him and how to avoid it in the future and what the Lord’s response to repentance is.

In the midst of realizing just how bad off he is, he has come to glimpse just how loved he is as well. As Tim Keller said “we are far worse off than we ever imagined, but we are far more loved than we ever dared hope.” God has been so gracious and has even used Jacob, in the depth of his depravity, to lead one of his friends, Olin, to Christ. He sent me a text message on his phone saying “I shared Christ with Olin and he prayed to trust him! I was shaking with nervousness when I started, now I’m shaking because I’m so excited.”

It has been so encouraging to see the Gospel lived out in Jacob’s life. Despite his sin God is using him incredibly. It is miraculous what God can do with a repentant and humble heart. This does not mean that everything is rosy and that the road to sanctification is easy. The reason he is “teething” right now is because he is struggling to leave his life of sin behind for a life of freedom in Christ. It’s been hard and he has fallen more than a few times. But he keeps getting up. It’s like the Switchfoot song says “maybe forgiveness is right where you fell.”
Pray for Jacob, that he will continue to experience the freedom of Christ and that he would walk in the Spirit. Pray for me that I would be a source of grace and truth in his life.

Warmly in Christ,
Dave & Jessica