Today is my first Periscope #livefree boost. I’m thrilled to think you’ll join me! You can find me every Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT on Periscope @suzanneeller and the broadcast will be available for 24 hours. I can’t wait to see you there! ~ Suzie
We sat in the beautiful crisp evening for nearly a half an hour. She was a leader, so her battle was private. Until that moment she thought she was doing a pretty great job of keeping it all stuffed way, way down.
“I’m a mess,” she said.
Then she added other words: bad daughter, bad mom, not enough, messed up, anxious, unwanted.
She laughed through her tears. “I don’t totally understand why this is all coming up, but I wonder if I’ll ever be okay. Is this normal?”
She saw herself one way. I saw her another.
God completely saw her in ways neither of us could.
I saw a brave woman. Someone who grew up with a parent who never spoke a kind word over her baby girl. I saw a woman who loved Jesus, and continued to show up and love broken relatives when others would have walked away. I saw a woman who held close to her Savior, getting up every day with hopes that He’d use her life.
She was a picture of faith.
Yet if she had a hammer in her hand, she couldn’t have beat herself up more thoroughly.
I’m not a counselor (though I’m married to a pretty cute one). I’m not all-wise. I rarely have sufficient answers. So, hand-in-hand, we began to pray for the Holy Spirit to speak to His sweet girl.
Afterwards, she started to share the words her parent spoke, words even shared the week before. She had heard them her whole life.
You’re not like your sister.
You’re not what I hoped you’d be.
You’re not, you’re not, you’re not. . . . repeated in different ways and with different depths of hurt.
I whispered something to her, praying she’d hear.
The words of a broken human being aren’t your identity.
And there it is. The truth. The thing that holds us back is often not ours to carry. You and I aren’t responsible for a broken person’s words. We aren’t to embrace them as truth.
They are not and have never been our identity.
Put that hammer down. There’s enough damage already done without you adding to it by repeating their words over and over in your heart.
Ask God to show you what He sees.
Speak words of life daily until they begin to take root and the untruths are uprooted and replaced.
You are loved.
You are strong.
You are worthy of love.
You are a picture of faith.
Suzie
The Mended Heart: God’s Healing for Your Broken Places is a book that will gently peel away the hurts to find wholeness.
When you purchase a resource through this link, a small amount is poured back into this ministry. Thank you for helping reach women who desire to live free.
Oh, YES! Oh my goodness, this line, “The words of a broken human being aren’t your identity.” What a beautiful truth this is, and yet so many have never heard it. Powerful stuff, Suzie! Thank you!
Hi Suzie, Your message came at the best time for me! I was severely criticized by an aunt last week who had spoken to some family members prior to our conversation to gather fuel for her assault on me. Her accusations left me devastated.
Suzie- Praising God for me finding your Periscope message today and this post. A topic I have been working on with God. Truly needed this message today! Thank you!
My dad called me and my brother pitiful all our growing up years and until I got saved and found out what God called me I suffered with such agony of spirit. I love being a Child of a King, love helping other women find their identity in Christ, the safest place there will ever be. All other place can change in a heart beat, He never changes His mind about who I am in Him. Great post.
Loved this post, Susie. Your comment about the hammer caught my attention. I’m often struck by how easy it is to be unkind to myself. Things I’d never say about someone else, I can say to myself. I try to catch myself and stop. Thank you for these words today. Linking from #RaRaLinkUp.
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Suzie… There’s no way you would have known how I needed those words,
Thank you.
Jessica
You are welcome, Jessica. I’m so glad you stopped by today. <3
May every woman embrace the words of God and release the one’s that linger in their hearts and minds from broken people. Including me!
Amen! 🙂
Oh, YES! Oh my goodness, this line, “The words of a broken human being aren’t your identity.” What a beautiful truth this is, and yet so many have never heard it. Powerful stuff, Suzie! Thank you!
Love this! The words spoken aren’t our identity! And for me the words NOT spoken aren’t my identity either! Thank you Suzie!
Hi Suzie,
Your message came at the best time for me! I was severely criticized by an aunt last week who had spoken to some family members prior to our conversation to gather fuel for her assault on me. Her accusations left me devastated.
Thank you for being here for me/us.
YES! I love this! Such a powerful post Suzie. 🙂
Suzie- Praising God for me finding your Periscope message today and this post. A topic I have been working on with God. Truly needed this message today! Thank you!
Yes! This is the message I want so much for women to hear, to understand deep in their soul.
Beautiful scope today too, your heart oozes anytime you write or speak.
My dad called me and my brother pitiful all our growing up years and until I got saved and found out what God called me I suffered with such agony of spirit. I love being a Child of a King, love helping other women find their identity in Christ, the safest place there will ever be. All other place can change in a heart beat, He never changes His mind about who I am in Him. Great post.
Loved this post, Susie. Your comment about the hammer caught my attention. I’m often struck by how easy it is to be unkind to myself. Things I’d never say about someone else, I can say to myself. I try to catch myself and stop. Thank you for these words today. Linking from #RaRaLinkUp.
Beautifully written, beautiful truth! So grateful for your heart. <3