Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

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The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Do you ever feel like the troubles of life are similar to a leaky faucet that’s constantly dripping loss?

Is there an unwanted change or a new wound that’s caught you off guard recently?

Unfortunately, that’s what we get when we live in a fallen world.

But the enemy’s plan is to pull us down emotionally, spiritually, and physically to a point where we can’t cope.

Whether you’re mourning the death of loved ones or the loss of health, a job, a marriage, friendship or even unforeseen drama, the enemy’s goal is to put you in a state of depression so that you’ll give up and react sinfully.

I experienced a serious tango with depression after the tragic loss of family two years ago. The grief of losing two family members at one time alone is enough to rupture one’s emotions, but the enemy complicated our grief with a full out assault that involved even more loss.

Depression can certainly stop the flow of life and that’s where I found myself for the entire year of 2017.

Through God’s Grace … I found my way out. The word of God is so precious to me because it was my lifeline.

Recently I was invited to share my story on the “Women Finishing Well” podcast. This is a beautiful new ministry that is aimed at helping women learn to leave a legacy of faith that will bless generations to come.

I was thrilled when Chris Syme asked me share my journey because to be honest … I want something good to come out of all the chaos and loss that we have experienced.

In this short podcast we talk about:

-Defining grief as a season and how God brings balance to our seasons.

-How the enemy of your heart can complicate your grief.

-Defining your season of mourning and its purpose for the healing journey.

-How to share your grief with others.

-How looking back at God’s faithfulness helps us deal with our present hurt.

-Why you should keep an inventory (journal) on how God shows up in your grief.

I would so love it if you would take a listen – here is the link. I believe God would encourage and provide hope for your brokenness.

The truth is … there is nowhere to take our broken hearts except to God. He is the only one who will handle them with tender care and divine guidance.

God loves you my friend. He sees your brokenness. He won’t leave your hurts undone. Take your broken heart to the Father … He’s waiting to comfort you.

Father, you tell us that you are close to us when we have a broken heart. We ask today that you remind us that you love us and want to help us navigate the hard places in life. Thank you for your promise to never leave us alone. God, show us the path to healing. Shine the light in our souls to block out the depression. Help us to pray honest prayers and to keep turning to you in every moment that we feel overwhelmed. Heal our broken hearts Lord, please. In Jesus name, amen.

Scriptures to encourage you:

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.                     Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Food for Thought:

Do you have the peace that passes all understanding? Have you given your heart to Jesus to be the Lord of your life? And if you did … did it change you from the inside out? If there wasn’t a real-life transformation … there is a good chance you didn’t give your heart completely to Jesus.

As a child, I thought I made a decision at the age of 6. But years later, I realized as a young adult that I had no victory in my life because I had never made Christ the Lord of my life. At the age of 26, I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me. Praise God! I don’t know where I would be today without Him?

If you would like to ask Jesus to be your Savior, below is the Salvation prayer that Dr. Charles Stanley provides on his website. I encourage you to take inventory of your heart and honestly seek the truth. Peace, victory for living, and eternal life are only a prayer away.

SALVATION PRAYER

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.

You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.

Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved.

Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance.

 Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life. AMEN.

If you prayed this prayer, I encourage you to reach out to someone and let them know. In fact, you can send me a message – I would so love to encourage and send you some materials. Your next step is to find a Bible believing church that will help you grow in the Lord. To be around other believers will accelerate your growth in the Lord.

Thank you for stopping by friend – I pray you find God in the deepest valley’s and seek Him in every way! HE LOVES YOU BIG!

Love,

Mel

“How GOD Fixes Broken People” My Vietnam Vet’s Struggle With Alcoholism

My story…..is tightly woven into my love story. What a man…what a GOD…and oh what a story of FORGIVENESS.  I am recycling an old post to link up with the precious Suzie Eller for #livefree Thursday.

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The year was 1968.

He was barely 19 by just a few days when he received his mandatory invitation from Uncle Sam.

Life was simple….. but he was far from a simple boy.

Talent, smarts and personality oozed from every pore of his body.

Required to report within 21 days, he left his boyhood behind.

After 12 months of combat training he stepped off the plane in Chu Lai, Vietnam.

All he could see on the tarmac were thousands of body bags laying side by side for three lengths of a football field.

Fear struck his heart….

He told himself he would never make it home.

His boots hit the jungle ground running.

His daily goal was just to survive to see the sun rise.

He once went 3 weeks without taking his boots off.

When I asked why?

He said you didn’t want to get caught with your boots off.

When he finally removed them ….the medic had to strip the socks from his skin.

The nights were sleepless.

The smells were endless.

The noise was miserably deafening.

The sights were horribly unforgettable.

The emotional and physical stress took its toil….

He had his first taste of liquor to cope.

One by one he watched his friends die.

He was one of the lucky three that survived his squad.

The tactical missions occupied his mind…..

Shifting his focus from the prospect of death.

Once after an intense night of battle….

He carried a dead GI on his back until he met up with the medi-vac helicopter.

You never forget that kind of weight….he says….

It’s a weight that lays heavy in the mind….

It’s a weight you still feel 44 years later.

Every 3 weeks his squad would go to the rear, aka command base, for a precious 3 day rest from death and destruction….

That’s where he learned to drink in order to numb the stress.

He tells stories of GI’S who shot themselves in the leg or got food poisoning on purpose…

He laughs about one soldier who actually tried to fake being crazy…..

These were the ones who would suffer being a coward rather than face the alternative.

The gruesome images he saw….are still prominent in his memories.

The desperation of surviving affected him in ways he could never imagine.

There are times he is still in survival mode even today.

The shock of all his senses engrossed in the worst horror story you can imagine….

Is who he is….at the most unexpected recollection.

He was wounded…

They patched him up and sent him back to the jungle a few months later.

Again….he fought to live….

Day in and day out…

Fighting for a people who for the most part….

Didn’t appreciate the effort…

Or the sacrifices.

He managed to survive….

He managed to come home….

But he wasn’t the same simple boy who left at the tender age of 19.

He came home and turned to alcohol more and more.

He worked hard and long hours during the day…..

He partied hard and long hours into the night…..

Every hour of productivity or leisure was occupied with anything to ease the memories.

I met him in 1985.

I didn’t know it then….but he was still broken from the war…. 15 years later.

He was a functioning alcoholic.

A good one too.

He was the life of the party….

But after we married…

The party was getting old to me….

Especially after the first baby came on the scene.

I just wanted to be normal….

But he couldn’t give me normal because he was carrying the weight of an unresolved emotional trauma.

Statistics cite severe drug and alcohol problems for 60-80% of Vietnam veterans.

Divorce rates hover around 90 percent.

Somewhere around 58,000 Vietnam vets died in combat….

Over 150,000 have committed suicide since the war ended.

Over 500,000 have been arrested or incarcerated.

It is estimated that approximately 100,000 are in prison and over 200,000 are on parole.

These 800,000 men will never get back what they lost.

They will never know normal….

At least in the way it was before it was taken from them.

My veteran gave up so much promise….

So much hope….

So many dreams that have never been reborn.

He lived with years of pain….

Years of functioning dysfunction….

Years of guilt.

Until it all caught up with him….

And the self-destructible behavior cost him everything.

You see that’s what happens when we can’t cope with the pain….

The guilt….

The mistakes….

The horror of the past….

Man self -destructs.

Interceding prayers made the difference in my vets life.

There were numerous….a too many to mention, faithful prayer warriors…..who prayed for him.

Then one day….

When he could bear the burden no longer….

He surrendered to JESUS.

When the bible talks about a new creation being born at salvation…..

My vet instantly became a new creation.

What rehab couldn’t do….

JESUS did….

What an undying love from a faithful young bride couldn’t do…..

JESUS did….

Nothing the world could offer helped him in anyway….

But JESUS did.

Immediately his countenance was different.

Immediately his heart was light…

His smile was bright….

His soul was at peace.

I will never forget the conversation we had a few years back…..

He talked about how the LORD had removed all the guilt of what he had to do to survive the hell hole of Vietnam.

“All that guilt…and worry….the faces I used to dream about…it’s all gone, GOD took all that from me when he saved me, I am FORGIVEN,” he said.

GOD also took his desire for alcohol away.

He has been sober for 23 years.

What GOD has done in his life is nothing short of a miracle.

He is far from a perfect man…..

But he lives a spirit filled life of joy….

Peace….

Hope…..

Freedom….

He has health issues due to his service…

But he has JESUS….

And though life is hard at times….

And never reaches a perfect place……

JESUS helps us endure….

JESUS keeps us going…..

JESUS helps us live daily with love, laughter and vision for the future.

And now JESUS uses my vet for HIS kingdom….

He teaches Sunday school….

He witnesses and helps others struggling with alcohol….

He goes and prays with those who need a touch from JESUS….

He has led several in the sinner’s prayer.

You see…….

GOD doesn’t throw people away….

Because GOD never uses perfect people.

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No matter what emotional trauma you have suffered….

No matter what addiction or stronghold in your life…..

No matter if divorce happens…..

No matter the mistakes you’ve made with life changing repercussions…..

It just doesn’t matter to JESUS

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When you are HIS….

You are a new creation…..

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here!            2 Corinthians 5:17

GOD wants to use you…

And your brokenness….

This past summer I heard a quote at a Proverbs 31 Women’s event and it gave me such hope….

“The thing that we think disqualifies us for GOD’S use…is the very thing GOD wants to use.”

Won’t you surrender to JESUS today and you can be FORGIVEN too?

If you have never accepted JESUS as your savior….there is no better day than today to become a new creation!  Please follow this link …..It’s so easy to come to JESUS!