A true story from a woman who participated in our online study of The Heart Healer. Whether you listen to this podcast or read below, Sonya’s story will inspire you.
Let me take you on a journey through the life of an incredible woman. I’ll call her Sonya. Her story spans almost seven decades. Many of those years were filled with rejection and abuse, but it’s also a tale of resilience and ultimate triumph.
You’d never guess the tumultuous history that Sonya carried with her if you saw her in a regular setting. Like many of us, she had a knack for wearing a brave smile in public to hide her inner turmoil.
Her story of rejection began when she was just a little girl. All she wanted was to hug and show affection to her dad, but he always pushed her away. Imagine that fragile girl lying in bed night after night, her pillow soaked with tears, wrestling with feelings of being unloved and unwanted.
Things really hit her hard during middle school when she realized that the reason her dad had always rejected her was because he had wanted a son. Physical abuse escalated. Sonya had a vivid memory of a dinner table incident. “Once,” she told me, “I said something and my dad knocked me out of my chair. I got a black eye from that, and I can’t even recall what I said. My father’s beatings always left me black and blue.”
Even now, she remembers her mother helplessly crying in the shadows as her father unleashed his anger. In school, her long-sleeved shirts hid the painful marks and bruises left by her father’s cruel belt.
Few people knew Sonya’s secret.
When she graduated from high school, Sonya left home to escape the trauma and rejection, but finding emotional stability in relationships proved to be a tough task for her. Marriages came and went. Abuse, despair, and divorce followed her like relentless shadows. In one horrifying twist, one husband even attempted to end her life.
Now, Sonya’s story is incredibly intricate, and I can’t tell it all here, but I promise you, there’s a silver lining to this tale.
One day, I invited her to join us in a group study of the book, “The Heart Healer,” and that’s when her life began to change. As she read the stories of others who had found solace in God’s love, she discovered that He offered a unique kind of heart healing. It was a healing that brought a profound peace, something only the Lord could provide. And that’s where Sonya’s story takes an inspiring turn.
From the book, Sonya read segments like this:
For some of you, the heartbreak from your experiences may still be so raw you wonder if you’ll ever breathe again. Perhaps not even from recent events, the pain persists affecting your thoughts, motivations, and actions. No one else knows it’s there; but it sits buried deep in a secret closet of memories, with a sign on the door marked “Brave and Strong.”
For those experiencing stress and heartache, please know this book is about HOPE and HEALING. It’s about a simple prayer God responds to in a magnificent way.
There IS One who absolutely loves us—One we can count on to make the pain all better.
He is the Great Physician, Almighty God, Jehovah Rapha, who listens when we pray, and is certain to respond. When we open our hearts and expose the pain, we can trust God to heal it.
And then, these verses in the Bible:
“He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds
[healing their pain and comforting their sorrow].”
— Psalm 147:3 AMP
“Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people,
‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears;
I will heal you . . .’”
— 2 Kings 20:5 NIV
When Sonya finished The Heart Healer, and our group study, she sent a wonderful message to me:
“I wish I’d found you sooner. All of these years I lived with this. I prayed all along but didn’t know God would heal hearts.
“This course makes me feel better about myself. I have peace. God has healed my heart and changed my life. I’ve finally forgiven everyone.
“A million things have come up that had bothered me. God has healed it all.”
AMAZING LORD! Only He could perform such radical change. Only He could calm her soul with such amazing peace.
Prayer for you:
Some of you may have experienced similar rejection and abuse. You may feel you do not know God well, but you know heartbreak very well.
God knows you. He wanted you, He created you, He chose you and loves you. He thought about you even before your birth. He has a plan for you!
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”
— Jeremiah 1:5 NIV
His plan for you includes the healing of painful memories stored in your heart. He knows of every anxious moment and has seen every tear fall. I invite you to seek Him out. Search for ways to align your heart with His, and if you need a little guidance, I pray that The Heart Healer book can show you a way. And it will take you through similar stories and verses in the Bible, personally connecting you to God.
Prayer for Heart Healing in Seven Simple Steps
- Ask God to reveal the memory He plans to heal.
- Place your hand over your heart.
- Invite the Lord into your heart.
- Ask Him to heal the pain connected to the memory (memories).
- Ask Him to heal any related illness in your mind or body and restore you to good health.
- Thank God for your healing.
- Breathe again!
May your hope be ignited, your faith intensified, and your innermost being healed. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
