Bonita Gomez

If you read my name before you saw my picture, you may have expected me to look a little different.  I get that a lot.  I’m named after my momma, but she goes by Bonnie.  My grandparents had no idea that bonita is a Spanish word.  I married into the last name Gomez, but my husband wasn’t Hispanic either.  His dad is Hawaiian, and the story was that his family worked for a Spanish family back in the day and took their last name. 

When I was young and fanciful, I believed it was just meant to be that my married name matched my spanish-sounding first name.  Life has jaded me a bit though, and I no longer think much about “fate”.  I believe there’s a beautiful, sovereign God who wants very much to have relationship with mankind but gives us freedom to choose if we want that relationship with Him.  I believe we have an enemy who tries to woo us away from God and that the sin and sickness in the world originate in the Garden, when that enemy – in serpent form then – wooed Eve, and all of humanity fell with one bite into the fruit.  I believe God has an ultimate plan, but I believe we take things off-course when we’re wooed by the world.  We’re not so big or powerful, though, that we can change His big-picture plan no matter how far away we go, and we are never so far away that grace can’t reach us. 

Grace is the theme of my life, even though it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses.  My childhood was not typical, but I don’t regret the things I experienced or what I learned from them, even from a young age.  I went to a small highschool in a small town then moved to the city for college.  I felt completely out of place and alone until….

One day I was leaving class and heard my name called from across the way.  It was this tall, dark, and handsome guy I met at worship the week or so before at the baptist student center.  I could not believe that guy remembered my name, but it changed everything.  I didn’t drop out of UAB and return home.  Instead, I went back to worship at the student center, which led to lifelong friendships, years of involvement in campus ministry, and a love for missions. 

Oh, and I married that tall, dark, and handsome guy.  He became a minister and eventually a pastor.  Our story could fill many pages, and maybe one day I’ll write about it in hope that it leads to some understanding of how we ended in infidelity and divorce. 

Which brings me to this blog.  I never imagined I’d be divorced, but I am.  Never thought I could make it as a single mom, but I am.  I have four of the most beautiful kids God ever made. The oldest three are in sports while the youngest is in diapers, so I am busy and a touch crazy.  I love deeply, so it made sense that the wound of betrayal and loss cut me deeply.  Deep wounds can be hard to heal, but God is the great physician.  He has been helping and healing me and showing me that maybe my story could help others heal.  Maybe in something I say, someone might hear His voice.  So that’s why I am venturing into writing.  I’m nervous.  This will either take off or flop.  No way to know which without taking the leap, so here I go.