It is a beautiful thing when you are able to see the promise of Romans 8:28 fulfilled in real time. This is exactly what happens in the pages of Serena Dyksen’s book, “She Found His Grace” (Bridge Logos, 2020).
I was first introduced to Serena during the summer of 2019 when I was manning a booth for LifePlan, a Gospel-centered pregnancy center in southwestern Michigan. The community event was coming to a close and I was beginning to tear down the display when I was approached by a woman who “just happened” to be passing by. She was looking for someone else when our booth piqued her interest – she wasn’t even aware that the community event was happening. After finding out what we were all about, she said, “You need to meet my friend, Serena!” She then made a phone call and handed me the phone. Serena Dyksen was on the other end.
The following week, I googled Serena. The articles I saw left me with no doubt that this Saturday meeting had not been by chance. I emailed Serena, we became facebook friends, and finally met in real life when she brought a group of young people to our Center to do a service project in January 2020.
While Serena’s story is a story of grace and redemption, it is also one of hope — hope for all of us who have ever wondered how any good can come from the brokenness of our lives. Serena’s story testifies to the truth that God can — and WILL — heal us from the hurts and damage of the past and redeem our story. What the enemy plans for evil, God can turn into good — and the kind of good that can influence and change lives, which is exactly what Serena’s story is doing.
Serena challenges us to stop making abortion a political issue and to, instead, open our hearts to the broken women around us who have been scarred by this practice. This quote near the end of the book sums up her challenge well:
There is a great ministry opportunity that many churches are not embracing because we have allowed abortion to become a political issue instead of a discipleship issue. We can argue over abortion laws, but if Jesus Christ does not transform a person’s heart, then abortion will continue. If the church remains silent over this crucial topic, then post abortive mothers and fathers will continue to sit inside the walls of their churches, hurting and broken. In remaining silent, the church will continue to see problems with addiction, broken families, and people not fully walking in the freedom of Christ. The church has everything to gain by offering abortion ministry and everything to lose by not (139).
She Found His Grace will both encourage and challenge you. It will encourage you to find redemption in your own story and to look for ways to use that story to point others to Christ. And it will challenge you to open your eyes to the hurt and broken around you — to be that person who steps into the middle of someone else’s story to offer hope — no matter how messy that may be.
You can order your own copy of She Found His Grace here.
Cheri Gamble 
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