Not Who I Imagined: Surprised by a Loving God

From our earliest days we long for love and acceptance. First from our parents, then from peers, and eventually from romantic interests. We look into their faces, searching for a smile, a look that says, I love you exactly as you are. Don't change. We long for the same gracious acceptance from God. But despite the Christian gospel of unearned grace and unconditional love, too many of us feel as though we're still not quite good enough as we are. We can't believe that God accepts us. And often this is because those who represent God to us on earth--our parents, other Christians--have not looked upon us as we are with expressions of unrelenting love.

With compassion and wit, Margot Starbuck asks the question, What if God receives me exactly as I am? She explores the unbounded love of God, showing readers a God whose face is open, kind, and gracious, accepting us as we are and freeing us from shame. Anyone who has ever felt as though they don't quite measure up will cherish this liberating message about God's abundant grace.

From the Back Cover

Do you feel like you're not good enough for God?

Despite the Christian gospel of unearned grace and unconditional love, too many of us still believe that we don't measure up. We might be able to convince ourselves that God's grace covers our past or ensures our acceptance in the future when we breathe our last and are jettisoned off toward heaven, but what about today? What about this moment?

With compassion and wit, Margot Starbuck asks the question, What if God receives me exactly as I am? She explores the unbounded love of God, showing uncertain followers a God whose face is open, kind, and gracious, accepting us just as we are. Right now.


"Margot takes all of the years of guilt inflicted by Christian legalism and replaces it with a message of acceptance, reminding each and every one of us of our true identity: beloved children of a heavenly Father."--Emily T. Wierenga, author of Chasing Silhouettes and Mom in the Mirror

"Many modern Christians falsely portray God as a distant, disapproving, disappointed, disgruntled divinity. But Margot Starbuck pulls back the curtain on what God actually looks like. This book is a breath of fresh air in a world of stale spirituality."--Jonathan Merritt, author of Jesus Is Better Than You Imagined

"The face of God presented here is one that is so wholly loving and deeply cherishing that it wipes away the chronic fear that lurks deep inside us."--Sarah Cunningham, author of The Well-Balanced World Changer and Portable Faith

"If you are a 'good Christian' who secretly worries that you aren't quite good enough for God's love, this book will confound you, delight you, and bring joy to your heart and soul."--Amy Julia Becker, author of A Good and Perfect Gift


Margot Starbuck (MDiv, Princeton Theological Seminary) is a regular contributor to Today's Christian Woman and an editorial advisor for Gifted for Leadership. The author of Permission Granted and the confessions editor for Geez Magazine's Sinner's Corner, she also writes for Relevant, Red Letter Christians, Mutuality, Prism, FullFill, and MomSense. She lives in North Carolina.