The road you’re on is not an easy one. (I should know.) I have been down your road.
It is for that reason I wrote this book.
I am hoping it will plant some seeds of trust in that heart of yours.
The Jewish would call me “bat Shuvah”—she who has returned.
I have returned.
- To my Abba-Father God.
- To The Church.
- I am a Prodigal no longer.
Yes, I returned.
But you know what?
I confess (even today) I still struggle to not get discouraged and go over that hill again.
Perhaps that’s because I also have learned—today’s Church can be a cold and lonely place for the wounded and broken. All the disillusioned, angry, and messy-ones. And yeah, it scares me to confess that truth to you.
Truth is, I grew up in a house full of secrets.
In my house?
It was definitely not okay to be wounded or broken.
(That would have been admitting the truth.)
No, appearances had to be kept up at all cost. Illusions were prized far above truth.
I still shake my head today, thinking back, looking at the choices my parents made I wonder, “Why would anyone want to live like that?” Then, I look at how it still is in today’s Church and I realize, not much has changed. People still live lives of posing and pretense.
Perhaps they think it easier… less messy—to just fake it.
But my heart has to ask, “Isn’t that just a waste… to live an unreal life?”
I mean…
“How do you ever become “REAL” without telling your real story?”
So, here it is. Mine, with all of its ugly scars, brittle edges, and more than a little healed-crooked, hard won, Jacob-type-leaning, and limping.
I’ve come a long way from that crooked and broken road.
(Been through some fierce storms, too.)
I hope I’ve learned—a little…
And maybe even earned… my place?
To speak to that deeply wounded heart of yours.
Women With Destiny 