Hope Heals // Share Your Story ⚓
I had the amazing privilege of hearing Jason and Katherine Wolf speak tonight! At the very last minute I had a sudden urge in my heart and I drove to First Baptist as quick as I could! I have followed Katherine for what feels like my entire life. I was 14 when she had her stroke and I have watched God work in her life throughout this entire journey! But I never connected my life to hers in any way.
Last night I was battling satan bad. He had my mind and my heart. He had me thinking things I hadn’t felt since middle school and he was winning! “You are broken and nobody wants to be in your brokenness. People will run, stop sharing! People will leave, stop sharing! People will not see you good enough if you share with them where you are, who you are and how you really feel, stop sharing!”
Oh, I’m running to Your arms, I’m running to Your arms The riches of Your love Will always be ENOUGH Nothing compares to Your embrace Light of the world forever reign
You are more, You are more Than my words will ever say You are Lord, You are Lord All creation will proclaim You are here, You are here In Your presence I’m made whole You are God, You are God Of all else I’m letting go
As we sang this song, I heard God say “In my presence you are made whole, let go of perfection!” I struggled in middle school believing 1 Corinthians 13’s “Love never fails.” My life had not been the greatest example of that verse. To this day, I am still amazed when someone chooses to love me and I do not ever think it will last. I am always afraid I will do something to make them regret it! To make them give up or quit! (I would if I were them! I’d run fast!) As we sang tonight “Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me. And on and on and on and on it goes! Yes, it overwhelms and satisfies my soul! And I never ever have to be afraid cause this one thing remains.” I heard God say “I am love. My love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out. And I never regret loving you.“
As if God hadn’t shown off enough, Pastor Jay prayed before Jason and Katherine got up “We all have a story, I pray God gives you the strength and courage to share it.” Then Jason and Katherine got up to say we are all broken and if we aren’t, we will be. None of our lives go the way we planned it to be. They did not think at 26 years old they would be changed dramatically. I did not think at 11 years old that my life would change dramatically. This is when I connected my life to Katherine’s. My story to their story. I often wish I was a happy, unbroken, picture perfect past kind of person! But when I look at Katherine I see joy but I see real. She isn’t all happy times and joyful tears. She is real. She knows what happened to her is terrible. She knows that she wishes things were different. She struggles and she knows she is broken for God to shine out of her cracks! God gives you a story for a reason. We have a story for a reason. It is not something to be ashamed of it, it is not something to be afraid of, and it is not something to be silent about! God will use your pain, your struggle, your brokenness as your platform to share that HOPE HEALS! Be real. Be honest! I am not always happy, my circumstances are not always happy but I have joy and I have this hope an anchor! God will use your pain for good!
God knew what I needed to hear tonight and He placed me in the perfect place at the perfect time! I am so grateful for God’s timing and His perfect plan! He is the only thing perfect about my life and I love that! Dr. Deb Douglas said it right on today “Struggling to be perfect is a year round challenge and such a waste of energy and resources.” You are not perfect, but you have a perfect God! A perfect God who has given you a story! A story to share! Not a story to scare! You will not scare people away, you will bring hope to all who cross your path, hope that heals! The hope of Christ Jesus! The hope we have as anchor for our souls! We cannot be moved because we are anchored in Christ! Share your story!
Go to http://www.hopeheals.com to find out more about Katherine and Jay Wolf! Thank you for sharing your story tonight and allowing God to speak through you tonight and always!
Xo Amy