He heals the

peaceforalifetimeEvery once in a while I read a book that is so helpful that I can’t help but share it. Lisa Murray, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, wrote Peace for a Lifetime: Embracing a Life of Hope, Wholeness, and Harmony Through Emotional Abundance.

In her newly released book she shares the keys to cultivating a life that’s deeply rooted, overflowing, and abundant, the fruit of which is peace. Today, Lisa has graciously offered to be a guest on my blog and shares about the moment when she began to #livefree. ~ Suzie

Why admitting my brokenness actually set me free

by Lisa Murray

Broken.

I am broken. It is the most freeing word that can escape my lips.

For most of my life I was on a feverish journey on the road toward Good Enough, desperate to arrive at the place called Perfection where I could find my worth, where I could lay down my struggle. Where I could find peace.

It wasn’t just a desire. It was a need, and a relentless one at that.

I felt my distinct humanity, my wound, as a great shame to be hidden. If I could avoid it at all cost I could get closer to Perfection.

Yet the road toward Good Enough was a terrible and winding one. It consumed all of my energies. It drained what little hope I had. Just when I thought I had arrived, when I could see the outline of this land just over the horizon, I would trip and fall.

Devastation and shame clouded what little hope I had. To reveal my brokenness was to open myself to both ridicule and rejection. I just couldn’t bear to add more condemnation to the consuming weight of my own.

At church, I heard voices imploring me to lay it at the altar and I would surely be healed. My deliverance would come if I would just spend two weeks in the Word.

Then all of my problems would disappear.

As I waited in desperation for the miracle that would welcome me into the promised land of healing, the voice of sorrow inside incessantly echoed that this promised land was for others, but not for me.

Mine, it seemed, was the road toward Good Enough.

One day, Jesus lovingly took my hand and guided me into a season of healing— emotional healing.

It was a season of unpacking a load of heartaches and disappointments that had festered along the way. It was an offering of relief, of release. This season was a gift in learning to listen. Learning to lean in and discover the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of me speak of my belovedness.

He beckoned me to let myself off the hook of perfection, to feel my worth as an infinite and immutable fact, to offer compassion to the wounded, weaker parts of myself. To accept, perhaps embrace, my brokenness.

To love. Me. Right where I was.

How could this be?

It went against everything I had come to believe. It drained me of everything I thought I knew. Maybe I didn’t know. What I do know is that somewhere along the way, Jesus was kind enough, gentle enough to offer me a gift called compassion. He stopped me on the road toward Good Enough and showed me the way toward Peace.

peaceforalifetime

In my new book, Peace for a Lifetime, I share the keys to cultivating a life that’s deeply rooted, overflowing, and abundant, the fruit of which is peace. Through personal and professional experience, I’ve discovered how to take the broken pieces of life and find indestructible peace with myself, God and with others.

Through my story and other’s stories you’ll realize that you can experience the life for which you long. You can experience abundance beyond anything you can imagine. You can experience peace, not just for today, not just for tomorrow. You can experience peace for a lifetime.

Peace. It was right inside all the time. It was the most beautiful gift I ever received.

Yes, I am broken. As I’ve heard said, That’s how the light gets in.

Lisa

 

lisamurrayIn her new book, Peace for a Lifetime, Lisa Murray shares the keys to cultivating a life that’s deeply rooted, overflowing, and abundant, the fruit of which is peace. Through personal and professional experience as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Lisa discovered how to take the broken pieces of life and find indestructible peace with herself, God and with others, and she passionately shares her breakthrough in this timely, well-written, book.

Through Lisa and other’s stories you’ll realize that you can experience the life for which you long. You can experience abundance beyond anything you can imagine. You can experience peace, not just for today, not just for tomorrow. You can experience peace —for a lifetime!

Lisa has offered to share one copy with one of you today.

Just leave a comment sharing how you found peace, or in what ways you are seeking peace. Lisa, myself, and others will be here all throughout the day to pray with you.

We’ll choose a winner on Wednesday.

You can read more of Lisa’s articles at www.lisamurrayonline.com. You can also follow her on Facebook: Lisa Murray, or on Twitter: @_Lisa_Murray.