Sunday was Luke’s 4th birthday.
I sat on the fence, watching our sweet little man hang out with Spiderman, who just happened to drop by.
Not far from him, 20-month-old Josiah ran through the sprinkler, arms in the air, his face crinkled with joy.
Two and half-year-old Audrey twirled as the spray misted down over her.
Utter, child-like joy.
I want to live my life like that.
Arms open, face upraised. Delighting in the moment and open to the surprises right around the corner.
I know that’s hard to do when you’ve been hurt.
In John 6, the disciples had just watched God perform a miracle.
We want that, too, Jesus.
I’m paraphrasing, but they’re asking Jesus what they needed to do to be able to perform miracles, too. This was Jesus’ answer.
Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
Do you notice how very simple this is?
No long lists.
No requirements.
Believe in me.
That’s where we begin as well when we are seeking a miracle in our own hearts. It’s child-like faith, but not childish faith. It’s opening our hearts to the possibility that God sees what we cannot.
It’s running forward in anticipation, our hands raised and open.
That day as I watched my grandbabies run and play and laugh, I remembered back to a girl who once felt broken. Who had no idea what believing in Jesus might mean, or how it might change me forever.
If God had shown me the future — the one where I sit on a fence in my fifties, my heart content, I might not have understood that I’d arrive there simply because of . . . Him.
Let’s do this together. Let’s believe and pray this prayer.
Surprise me, God, with what you desire to do inside of me.
Suzie
A RESOURCE for you
The Mended Heart: God’s Healing for Your Broken Places
Being hurt and heartbroken is a sad reality for most of us. But I’m so thankful for this treasure of a book written by my friend, Suzie Eller. Page by page, Suzie will help you understand how God’s truth can heal your pain so you can move forward whole and healed. ~ Lysa TerKeurst, Proverbs 31 Ministries, NYT bestselling author
Just recently started following you & I have already been encouraged. I need healing in many ways!
Thx for doing this study. Your books helped me through a very painful time and now I’m encouraging my daughter and friends to do this study with me. Praying for healing for many
Looking forward to His surprises during this study, Suzie!
Your messages are wonderful. I had a rough and scary childhood, married to get out of it and ended up in a rough and scary marriage. After 8 years, I lost everything I had and I was crushed. I didn’t care if I lived or died, actually, I hoped to die. I begged God daily to just let me die…if I was talking to Him at all. I did everything I could help that process along; drugs and alcohol, bad relationships, you name it.
But, just like you said, He sees what we can’t and if we COULD see it, we probably just wouldn’t be able to fathom it. I am now clean and sober and have been for eight years, I’m married to the best man ever created and we have a son, Mason, who is 5 months old. If I had died, Mason would never have been born!
I still have broken places in my heart and I pray about them all the time. I have a hard time forgiving the person who caused all the loss in my life so many years ago because she refuses to take responsibility and he ngs it up only to blame me. I hope that at some point, I will be able to let go of the anger and I’ll feelings I have toward her, but I can only do it in God’s strength.
I love your books. They are such uplifting and encouraging resources for people who are just broken. You don’t have to enter me in the giveaway. I already have a copy of The Mended Heart that was sent to me by a very good friend. It’s not signed and that would be awesome, but I would rather somebody who needs it get it because it is helping me immensely!
Fearful of surprises, but tired of being stuck in the past. Ready to move forward, one small step at a time.
Donna –
I am praying for you. I have been there. Just put one foot in front of the other. God will hold your hand to keep you moving.
Elizabeth
My husband had a mother who was an alchoholic who abused him, changing him forever. But I have been married to him For 22 years now and I can tell you that God heals. He is a different person today than the day I married him and it is all because God loves us so much that He does what is necessary to heal us if we allow Him.
I’m looking forward to the surprises that God has for me!
Please Pray for the Whole World to have complete Peace today , and Everyday #LoveLoveLove Raquel Aguillon
I am encouraged DAILY by your blog posts, Suzanne. You are a gift from God to me!!! (as are the other P31 ladies!) I ask for prayers as I deal with an 18 year old just graduated from high school that thinks he can do just about ANYTHING he wants and get away with it. I am learning patience and endurance through the HOPE that God gives me through Jesus! Thanks again & God Bless!
I’ve signed up for the study as I am working on my incredible slow healing journey from childhood traumas (the 1st time I’ve used that word to describe what happened to me) from 35 – 40 years ago – things I thought I had gotten over simply because I have a life that doesn’t “look” like those things are a part of my history. Left at a children’s home at age 11, I said that I would not be defined by who I was when I lived with my parents, and I set about making sure I wasn’t. I really thought not looking back, only focusing on the blessing a my current stable environment and future possibiities was “healing.” I have failed to see how the events from those 1st 11 years have continued to impact how I interact in this present life – often in ways I don’t like. Despite outward stability, the inner turmoil has finally become too overwhelming to ignore, and I have sought counseling – while admittedly I’m still struggling with my decision to do this, as I still wonder if it reflects a weakness in my faith to need the outside help. But as I continue to see God’s hand in opening the doors for counseling, I am attempting to stay the course, and be open to other avenues of healing & insight. While I still have great difficulty talkig about many of my childhood expereinces, I am finding a greater longing for “community” in this healing & look forward to participating in the upcoming study.
I love how our children and grandchildren help unveil deep truths in our lives. Great post, Suzie, filled with hope.
I am signed up and cannot wait for it to start. Too long I’ve let my future be defined by my past and I’m ready to move on.
wOULD LOVE TO READ THIS BOOK! YOUR POSTS ARE ALWAYS VERY ENCOURAGING!
THANKS!
I love that God defines me. I don’t have to be defined by my past or who other people think I am. I have to embrace all God calls me to be and live my everyday life for His Glory. There I can find rest and peace in Him.
Pray for my daughter
Would love this book and I’m looking forward to the study! ❤️
I love this, Suzy, as each day is a surprise as to where God is leading us! I am praying this for my daughter today, as she is struggling with how her life may not look like she thought it would right now. I pray that she will let go and let God! She is a girl who likes to plan, and sometimes when things don’t go the way she ‘planned’ she tends to let it get the best of her, and she feels defeated…I pray that she will see that this is God’s way of showing her His way, and not her own.
Thank you!
Thank you for this encouragement today. I need to believe that I will not stay broken forever.
Wow, as I read everyone’s comments I remembered why I like being a part of these studies. We are not alone I out hurts and our prayer needs. There’s so much healing out there for us ladies. God has a plan and a future for us to prosper!!! Please know you are being prayed for! Can’t wait to delve deeper into the study and his Word. He’s preparing our hearts for some good stuff!!!
The source of my pain is still present in my life & will be until she passes. I need healing & strength. It has gone on long enough. Our youngest child is now graduated & heading to college. It is time for me to move on as well. My season has come…..
So excited to start my first obs bible study. Where does my heart need mending?
I am a new reader. The timing of this new study gives me a renewed & refreshing hope. I know whoever wins the book will be blessed!
Please pray for me and my family. Praying for restoration of my marriage of 26 years. My heart is broken because of an affair on my husbands part. He walked out but still we are both hoping to work things out. I pray for Gods continued healing.
Every time i think i am past my past something creeps up. A part of the past lead undealt with. Your first book was instrumental in my personal and spiritual walk with God and this sounds like a great book too. Thank you for continuing to share your past and how you’ve healed so we too can learn.
I’m looking forward to this study. I am bad at letting my past keep me down. I need to move forward and grow stronger in Christ.
Thank You, Suzie, for offering this online bible study. I never write a comment. But after reading all of the previous comments left today, I felt it was time. Having been raised by an absolutely wonderful, but very stoic mother (kept all of her feelings carefully under wraps) I have done the same throughout my life. Only in the last year and a half has God been awakening my feelings. It is a beautiful thing, especially awakening my feelings of love for God and really experiencing His love for the first time!! Needless to say, I have stuffed a lot of emotional “stuff” – just “life stuff.” I’m still working on becoming totally free in Christ. Looking forward to the “surprises” God has in store for all of us through this study of “The Mended Heart.” Again, thank you for leading us in this study.
I’ve had this book on my wish-list for a while but just haven’t had a chance to get it. Now that school is out for the summer, I’ll have time so perfect timing with the study. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
You are the winner of this giveaway. I have sent a private email to you for your mailing address.