By Kayla DeKraker
Country artist Jelly Roll’s wife, Bunnie XO, also known as Alisa DeFord, recently shared how her mother’s rejection became a beautiful story of reconciliation and forgiveness.
“So I grew up kind of in like a rock and roll lifestyle. My dad was a musician, my mom was a stripper,” she said on TODAY’s JENNA & SHEINELLE. “They had me, and my dad ended up getting sick and went to the hospital with hepatitis C from drug use. And when he was in the hospital, she left me on a doorstep.”
DeFord revealed that when her dad was released from the hospital, he found her and got custody of her, however she did not hear from her mother for decades.
“I didn’t get to see her again until I actually physically hugged my mother again until I was 36, but she found me one night on AOL when I was 22, and we began our relationship over the computer,” she explained. “Eventually we talked on the phone, and we just developed this really slow relationship, and then I finally got to meet her at 36.”
Related: Jelly Roll Credits: I Prioritize My Family, And That’s What Anchors Me Down
Although what her mother had done was painful, DeFord was able to put herself in her mother’s shoes and forgive her.
“I was my mom’s mom in this life, and I forgave her because she had such a childlike spirit,” she said. “And in the end, she ended up spending her last days with letting me take care of her. And I got to, you know, really forgive her and have the best ending with her that I possibly could.”
DeFord’s forgiveness captures what Paul writes in Colossians 3:13: “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
DeFord also detailed her own faith journey as well as her husband’s.
“God has always had his hand on our lives, but we strayed from him for the longest time,” she said. “We are baby Christians. He grew up in a Methodist household. I grew up Southern Pentecostal, but I also strayed far from him [God] and dabbled in things that I thought would fill that void. And he went down his own path too.”
She added, “We want to tell the world that we love Jesus and we want to show the world that God is working on us and we’re works in progress. We’re not perfect. We are not role models, but we want you guys to know that if God can work through us, he can work through you.”
What a beautiful reminder of the power of forgiveness.
Read Next: Country Star Jelly Roll Uses His God-Given ‘Second Chance’ to Do This…
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