Fierce Beauty by Kim Meeder Page A

effects. There’s no distraction in fantasy books, movies, romance novels, video games, texting, Facebook messaging, tweeting, blogging, or online chatting that can negate sin’s presence in our lives. There’s no amount of cutting, burning, tattooing, piercing, binging, purging, or starving that can camouflage the pain we feel inside.
    If you feel as if you’re reading about yourself in Dakota’s story—pierced, broken, with an arrow of sin in your life that you can’t remove—know that there is a remedy. There is
one
hope.
    God’s Word says, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24–25).
    If you feel alone in your pain or pride, realize that you’re not. Scripture tells us, “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins” (Romans 3:23–24). We all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.
    Perhaps David said it best in one of his most beloved psalms: “I prayed to the L ORD , and he answered me, freeing me from
all
my fears.… The L ORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from
all
their troubles. The L ORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit” (34:4, 17–18). “Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the L ORD listened; he saved me from
all
my troubles” (verses 5–6, NLT , 2007).
    The healing truth of God’s Word declares that “anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” and “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong” (Romans 10:13; 1 John 1:9). If you feel pierced, there is One who wants to give you forgiveness, cleansing, and redemption. All you need to do is fall on your knees and ask.
    Friend, there is
no
arrow that the unfailing love of Jesus cannot remove.
    Editor’s Note: Read more about Kelsie in the story “A Perfect Match,” found in Kim’s book
Hope Rising;
about Laurie and her dog Mia in Kim’s book
Blind Hope;
and about Sarah in the story “Run Through Fire” in
Hope Rising
.

7

THE ATTACK
Fierce Defense
    I love my ranch staff. They’re some of my dearest friends, and I consider them my family. Because they hail from across the United States, I’m passionate about introducing them to the marvels of this wild, western world. It’s my delight to take them back-country skiing, surfing, mountaineering, horse packing, rock climbing, night snowshoeing, marathon running, snorkeling, and various other forms of adventuring and exploring.
    Of all the precious gems the Northwest has to offer, perhaps the most extraordinary is Yellowstone National Park. If you’d like to discover our God of wonders in a no-words-can-describe way, Yellowstone is a must-see. I’m certain the word
amazing
was coined there.
    Because it gives me great joy to share my passions with those I love, a handful of my staff and I decided to do a whirlwind trip to this Serengeti of North America. Since it was September and our ranch season was still in full swing, we needed to make the trip as quickly as possible. This meant we would blitz the twelve-hour drive in one day, have two full days in the park, and then bolt home again. Taking in the whole park in two days is simply not possible, but jet-propelled by a ton of coffee, we were determined to try!
    Our plan was to spend the first day viewing as much geothermal activity as we could squeeze in. The second day would be devoted to seeing as many animals as we could locate between dawn and dusk.
    I’ve visited Yellowstone during many different seasons, and it
never
disappoints. My girls’ initial wide-eyed responses