Making mistakes is an inherent part of our human nature, and a crucial element of our learning and growth. It is through mistakes that we come to realize our imperfections, reassess our actions, and strive for improvement. However, when we are shown grace from others amidst our shortcomings, it transcends the simple act of forgiveness. Grace is a potent demonstration of understanding and compassion, a silent acknowledgment that we are all fallible and capable of erring. It serves as a gentle reminder that mistakes do not define us, but rather, it’s how we rise from them, empowered by the grace we've been granted. 

Madison Prewett Troutt, a former contestant from ABC’s The Bachelor who is now an author, always longed to be in a relationship. After breaking up with a person she thought might be “the one” and being thrown into the whirlwind of a reality TV show, Madison found grace through her struggle with finding love by a deeper understanding of the foundation of God’s love in her life. Dr. Esau McCaulley is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and an assistant professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. After learning of his estranged father’s death, Esau had to dig deep to find the words that he would use for his eulogy, which led him down a path to renewed empathy and believing that every life, no matter the mistakes made, is deserving of grace.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling

Jesus Always

Jesus Listens

Past interview: Matthew West

Upcoming interview: Julie Chen Moonves

Samaritan’s Purse: https://sampur.se/44HesSt 

Madison Prewett Troutt

The Love Everybody Wants

ABC's The Bachelor

Matthew 22:35-39 NIV

www.madiprew.com

Dr. Esau McCaulley 

New York Times 

Wheaton College

How Far to the Promised Land

tenant farming 

Jim Crow

Interview Quotes:

“Rejection doesn't have to be such a bad thing. Rejection can actually be God's redirection to something better, and it can also be God's protection to keep you from something that you just tried to settle for. He's still in the no’s, just like He's in the yeses.” - Madison Prewett Troutt

“I see what God has done and is continuing to do through me and how He's using my life to just encourage people. And man, just what God can do with a surrendered heart and a yes is truly amazing.” - Madison Prewett Troutt

“It's by the grace of God that I was really able to experience almost all the different versions of relationships in life: the waiting seasons, the heartbreaks, the rejections, the singleness.” - Madison Prewett Troutt

“My goal is to show everybody how to look to God and see ourselves and find deep love amid our culture's shallow ideas about love and romance. Because the truth is, finding love isn't as complicated as we've made it.” - Madison Prewett Troutt

“My mom always told me when I was a kid that, ‘When you get where you're going, don't forget where you came from’ And that's true, but I think it's more than simply remembering where you came from, it’s bringing where you came from with you, and that you bring them through the door of opportunity.” - Dr. Esau McCaulley 

“When I began to see my father as a person with his own narrative and his o