There's This Girl I Know...

She had lost her joy.

She’s been going through some rough stuff recently that we can all learn from. It’s a struggle that many have experienced but I assure you it ends in victory.

(don’t worry, I have permission to write this)

Last year was a really hard year for this girl; one of the hardest yet. And though the obstacles may not seem like much in comparison to some who have dealt with sickness, death, disaster and other trials, the emotions and blows received in the midst of the storm are often very similar and so are the steps to healing.

It was almost this time last year when this girl was called into a board room by one of her co-workers and told that her position was being terminated. She had never been let go from a job before and it is a bit 

of an ego slam when something like this happens. She knew she could get through it though, what with her education and a pretty good resume to fall back on. But it was the days to come that would bring the bigger bruises. Two days later, out of nowhere the man that she 

loved, her first love, began a conversation that took her completely by surprise. He told her that their relationship was over. At that point she was in shock; that hit her harder than the first crisis but not quite as hard as the third. A month later she found out that he was engaged and then all communication was lost.

This sent her into a place she had never been before. A pit that was unknown and dark and full of night after night of heartache and sleeplessness. She didn’t realize what was happening inside of her though as she hung on to the what-ifs and the betrayal and the hurt. And the longer she held on to it, the harder it became to feel whole again.

She even resented how she felt. She was realizing new weaknesses and thinking bitter thoughts that she would justify in her head. She got really good at that; so good in fact, that it became hard to remember the good times and at one point convinced herself that it would be better not to remember them. And being a girl of logical mind, with so few answers, she imagined up endless scenarios and rearranged pieces of this shattered puzzle until she found that almost a year later she was still sitting in this same deep dark pit.

God was in there with her. She knew that very well and often wondered how people made it through things like this without Him. But even though she was not alone in this pit she didn’t want to be there any longer. What it would take to get out though, was a choice that can be difficult to make but holds the power to heal any wound.

Forgiveness: A simple act wrapped up in life’s complexities.

This was not an overnight decision. This girl thought about the wins and losses that this act of forgiveness would achieve. But the more she thought about it the more the losses disappeared until all she was left with was a desperation for freedom. She began to remember too that she wasn’t guilt-less. And this forgiveness

had to be given as much as it had to be received. There were a few verses that kept popping up during this time, one of them from Matthew 6:14, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

One of the problems she was having though was taking that leap. Actually choosing it and giving it all up. Holding on to the hurt had become so familiar to her. She knew that forgiveness doesn’t mean that what had been done is justified or that it is ok. But what forgiveness means is that the wrongs done will no longer be held against that person. She found it hard at first to forgive herself even, for the mistakes that she made. So how then would she forgive someone else? She needed a push and accountability.

Thankfully, God, knowing her very well and in His excitement for healing His children had already planned out the place and the time. It was a Sunday evening, a casual night at a friend's place, when a simple conversation turned into the perfect opportunity for prayer and surrender and most of all, a brand new freedom. Sitting on a couch with two friends supporting her, she made the choice to forgive the person that had hurt her and finally climbed out of the pit she had been living in for so long.

Her peace was immediate. She didn’t expect it to be a physical change. But she felt stronger. It was as if her sight was transformed and the bitterness was a distant memory. Her heart didn’t hurt anymore. It was confusing to her. She didn’t understand how she could go from being so downcast to feeling such joy in almost an instant. And now all she wants to do is give credit to her healer.

And that’s why I’m sharing her story with you. So that God gets all the glory. And to tell you that His power is real. No matter who has hurt you, no matter what life throws at you, regardless of your mistakes or the trials that seem unbearable; God is bigger than all of it. And if you let Him, He will change your life.

There’s this girl I know… Her life is proof of that. She trusted God and got her joy back.