989 words, 5 minutes read time.
My name is Miriam. I used to be a woman defined by my mistakes, a woman who carried shame as heavy as a stone. But that all changed on a day I will never forget. A day when I encountered mercy so profound that my life was forever turned around.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I had lived a life full of regret, full of choices that led me deeper into darkness. The truth is, I had become so entangled in sin that I didn’t know how to escape. I believed I was beyond help, that the weight of my guilt would be my fate forever. But everything changed in the blink of an eye.
I remember it clearly—how they dragged me through the streets, the crowd of men shouting and sneering as I was pulled along. My heart raced in fear. What would they do to me? Would they stone me, as the law of Moses demanded? I knew I was guilty. I had no defense. The law was clear, and I had violated it in the most shameful way. They had caught me in the act, and I was about to pay the price.
They led me right to Him—the one they called Jesus. I had heard His name whispered on the lips of those who followed Him, those who spoke of Him as if He were more than a mere man. But in my shame, I couldn’t imagine that this so-called teacher would have any compassion for someone like me.
“Teacher,” the accusers said, their voices full of malice. “This woman was caught in the act of adultery. Now, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What do You say?”
I could feel their eyes on me, their judgment piercing through my very soul. I didn’t look up. I couldn’t. All I could think of was the punishment that awaited me—the stones, the cries of the crowd. The end of my life as I knew it.
But then, He did something unexpected. Instead of responding right away, He knelt down, and with His finger, He began writing in the sand. What was He doing? Why was He not speaking? The silence grew unbearable as the crowd waited, confused by His actions. The murmurs of curiosity grew louder, but still, He did not speak. I didn’t dare look up at Him, afraid that He might be as angry with me as the others.
Finally, He stood and turned to face the crowd. His words rang out, cutting through the tension like a sword.
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
I could hardly believe what I was hearing. The crowd fell silent, each man frozen in place. The words hung in the air like a challenge, a challenge that no one seemed willing to take. One by one, they began to leave. First, the oldest men, who knew their own guilt all too well. Then, the younger men, who followed suit. Soon, there was no one left but me and Him.
I dared not look up at Him, but I could feel His gaze upon me. It wasn’t a gaze of judgment or anger, but one of something deeper—something I couldn’t quite understand. Compassion? Mercy? I wasn’t sure, but it was as if the weight of my sin, the shame that had consumed me, was suddenly lifted.
“Woman, where are your accusers?” He asked softly. “Has no one condemned you?”
I looked up slowly, hardly able to believe what I was seeing. The crowd was gone. The men who had been so eager to see me punished were nowhere to be found. It was just me and this man—this man who had spoken words I could never have imagined hearing. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t explain myself. I just whispered, “No one, Lord.”
And then He said it. The words that would forever change the course of my life.
“Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”
I can hardly describe what I felt in that moment. It was as if the chains of my past had been broken in an instant. His words didn’t just offer me forgiveness—they offered me a new life. A life that didn’t have to be defined by my mistakes, a life where I could leave my sin behind and walk in freedom.
It wasn’t that Jesus ignored my sin or pretended it didn’t matter. He knew what I had done. But He didn’t condemn me. He saw me not for my failures, but for what I could become. For the first time, I felt like I wasn’t a lost cause. I wasn’t worthless. I was worthy of mercy. And with that, He gave me the strength to begin again.
As I left that place, I knew I would never be the same. His grace had transformed me. I didn’t know exactly how, but I knew one thing for sure: I wasn’t going back to the life I had lived before. I would follow Him. I would listen to Him. And I would live differently—because He had shown me that it was possible.
And so, I did. I left the old life behind. The life of sin, the life of shame. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I knew I would struggle. But I also knew that Jesus’s mercy was greater than anything I had ever known. He had given me a second chance—a chance to be more than my mistakes. To live a life that wasn’t defined by my sin, but by His love and grace.
I don’t know where I would be today without that moment. Without His words, His mercy, His invitation to leave my past behind. But I know this: I am a different woman now. I am a woman redeemed.
