Pursuing God's grace can take nearly a lifetime, and sometimes we do not know where or when it will begin to show itself. The first two quarters of my life had been consumed with a quest for peace, happiness, but more importantly, grace. What I didn't realize until most recently is that all three of these were always well within my grasp, much closer than I ever realized. I was given the same opportunities, and I possessed some of the same qualities as many others that I knew.

Was I at the top of my class? No. However, I did graduate with honors, but I chose to stop my education...