This ghazal-inspired poem is loosely my story. If you met a broken version of me before you knew the woman you see today, would you forgive the woman you knew then and embrace the one you see after He left the 99 and redeemed? I love you and am cheering for you, too!
In Spite of It All
When I was younger, I thought I knew it all,
until it was my life for His, the One who knows it all.
Spiritually speaking, the way I was raised was the dream—
until college showed me I wasn’t solid at all.
I had some cool friends, but my spirit was vexed
to the point I wanted to end it all.
Yet He called my name and told me to take off that shame,
Yah was still loving me through it all.
I wish I could tell you that life became perfect,
but that wouldn’t be true, at all.
To some, I seemed a standard while at the same time for others a shameful example,
But Yah consistently held space for me through it all.
If you’re reading this and knew me back in my past,
I’m not sure which version you met, not at all.
Yet, I can confidently say, my Abba had His way
and made me over, in spite of it all.
© 2026 Candace A. Jones. All Rights Reserved.
Featured image is of me back in 2012…I loved God but was still broken, though pressing toward Him.
