A Letter to a Hurting Heart

Dear someone who wants forgiveness, but won't let themselves be forgiven,
God is ALL about second chances.

Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." / Revelation 21:5

Take your pain, take your guilt, take the darkness you carry with you- take it all to Him. Lay it down at His feet. He is stronger than what you feel rising up in you sometimes.

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. / Ephesians 6:10

Do not sorrow, the joy of the Lord is your strength. / Nehemiah 8:10

It won't be easy to walk this walk, to feel the groaning of change happening inside of you. Change hurts. It can be difficult to keep up with and new to your system, but it is more awakening than it is uncomfortable and more reviving than it is cutting. And change, when Jesus is making it happen, is always, always going to be good for your heart and those around you. He makes no mistakes, and when you feel undeserving or unable to understand, remember that.

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. / Isaiah 43:19

God works outside of time and He's always had a plan for you. He's brought you to this moment and He has you where He wants you. Let go of the doubt, let go of whatever is behind you. He has forgiven you, and it is BEHIND you for a reason.

Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. / Isaiah 43:18

Look forward. With the rising of the sun on a brand new day, you will see His mercies afresh, His love as constant as it always was.

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love / 1 John 4:16

Thank You, Mom

I can't write about you without crying

You see, you just mean that much to my heart

But I will use words to show you I'm trying

To thank you for never letting me down from the very start

You follow God and you listen to His voice

The way you walk your life has guided me

And you were part of the leading me to my choice

To make Him my Master and Lord over me

To wait for that still voice above all life's noise

And to go to all the places He leads me

And do you remember that day you held me?

You told me you were proud of me

Told me you saw strength and saw beauty

Your tears ran down your face and mine were all over me

And I couldn't speak because of the tornado of love within me

Because you, you were the one that taught me

The scars that have been made yours and the battles you've fought

His instructions you've listened to, His word you took

And the beautiful example you've been in how His face you sought-

I love how you have always told me that for the good, I should look

This is why the tears flow easier than the words

Because you have used so much more than words to love me

And your love and prayer and comfort is still what girds

And helps ground me when I'm broken or lost out at sea 

So, I guess I'm trying to tell you I love you

I appreciate all the things you've done and do

I'm so often amazed at how He uses you

And for who you've been to me, I want to say thank you

You made me want Him to use me like that

And I will always, always be grateful for that

You told me never to quit, to keep on pushing through

And now as I stand here, all I want to say is

Thank you

-t.h.

written: 12/04/18

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To you, Mom: I'm sorry I'm only posting this at the end of Mother's Day. It'll be Monday by the time you read it. But that doesn't change how I mean every word.

To everyone else: Thank you for reading this. A lot of it was me trying to articulate that having a loving and godly woman as a mother is an incredible gift from the Lord and that I am grateful.