“I was incredibly lost,” she said.
Sexually abused as a little girl, her anger didn’t surface until she was an adult. She didn’t understand that her choices in men were tied to a little girl who just wanted to be loved. She married and that man became her security.
One day her security left and she stumbled into depression.
A friend knocked on her door, refusing to go away. She found her in her bed and refused to let her stay there. She reminded her that her children needed her. She reminded her that God loved her.
She climbed out of her bed.
It wasn’t an overnight healing, but a gentle peel-away-the-layers process with Jesus.
The little girl inside of her needed to be restored.
The woman inside of her needed to see her worth.
I sat in the audience and listened to her story. Incredibly brave, she exuded strength.
She discovered that no one person could make her whole — and it wasn’t their job, but that Jesus willingly assumed that when He came to earth to set us free.
Not just from sin, but the effects of sin.
Now she can’t help but tell her story to others. She’s giving out of her healing. Nothing delights her more than seeing someone else discover that they do not have to feel lost anymore.
To live free: Give out of your healing.
You don’t have to be eloquent. It’s not your job to fix them. It’s simply pouring out hope from the deep well that has been filled up inside of you.
I promise you this. If you ask God to place someone in your path who feels incredibly lost, He’ll do that.
Let them know that Jesus loves them. Tell that person she is seen. She is loved. There’s healing reserved just for her.
Suzie
Q: How do you identify with these women in this passage?
Q: What did they do with their healing?
Q: Describe one person who has impacted you greatly. What has God done for them? How did that in turn impact you?
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Oh how my heart understands this. I know the pain. I know the hurt. I know the shame. And I know that God. The God that can mend it all, that promises to make something beautiful out of these ugly things. I know the God that promises to never abandon me even though I have felt abandoned my whole life. He’s teaching me. It is slow. And that part is scary because at times, I wonder if I can be patient enough to do this healing thing in His time. Sometimes I worry my weaknesses and my lack of strength will lead me to give up rather than trusting His timing. I know He is in control. He is in control.
I love the part that says, “Jesus frees us from the effects of the sin of others upon our heart.” So many times, I read verses about our sins and I question, what if it wasn’t my sin? What then? And this says, those sins too – the sins of others committed against me. He’s freeing me, slowly but surely. It hurts But someday, someday I will feel whole.
Jen thank you so much – I can so relate to what you have said I too am going through the slow process of healing and your words have helped enormously to remind me God is with me in it all and I need his strength and to allow him slowly in his time to free me to be the person he intended me to be. Praying he will reassure you that he is walking alongside you in the process. xx
Thank you for sharing, Tracy! He never promised it would be easy and it’s not but what amazing stories we will have someday of triumph and overcoming because of His love and grace! I will be praying for you – please free to keep in touch with me. We’re in this together!
What a wonderful story of how God uses our testimony. Our pain is redeemed and transformed as we’re healed, and we can be a source of healing and encouragement to others!