Sequins of Hope

It was a beautiful afternoon as I stopped at a local grocer on the way to the beach. As I parked my car, I noticed two ladies admiring shirts, which it appeared that the other had recently purchased. One of the absolutely gorgeous shirts caught my eye. The white shirt had the word “joy” on it in gold, sparkly letters.
As she held it up, her friend asked, “Where did you get that?”
The six words “where did you get that” and “joy” took me back in my memory. I remembered something at that moment. I found my joy on the beach of Isle of Palms as I shared all of the hurt, pain, heartache, anger, and devastation of my journey. I sensed the Lord affirming His promises that He was with me the entire time, every minute, and would use all of it to help others. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (II Corinthians 1:3-4). I felt a joy in my heart that I have never experienced before. I felt the love of the Father for me, even in the suffering. I finally got it that God cared and He had been there all along.
I realized that, while I did not notice the beautiful sparkles of joy during my journey, it did not take away from the fact that the joy was always there. I was just looking for it in the wrong place. I was searching for it in my circumstances. I was desiring for life to be a certain way, and if it weren’t, I had no joy.
Isle of Palms is a beautiful beach that is constantly changing. It always looks different each time I visit the area. But one thing that is constant is the sparkles of silver throughout the sand. Do I notice the sparkles every time I visit that beach? No! But this does not change the fact that the sparkles are always there.
The same is said for joy. Though life circumstances can leave us feeling no joy, I have learned that it doesn’t change the fact that joy is promised to us as believers. God has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He is near to the brokenhearted. But you see that this can be a journey because deep pain, hurt, and suffering can leave us focusing on the loss and the hurt and not the healer, deliverer, redeemer, or restorer. My prayer is that my shared journey will help you to see that Jesus is with you every single step of the journey and you won’t miss the sparkles of joy all around you because you will see His hand with you, holding and healing you.
A journey is a process. Just as a butterfly has a morphing process, so too do we. Our wing may be broken, the wind may be knocked out of us, and we may feel shattered and broken. That is when we need to take Jesus’s hand and share all of it—everything—with Him. Let the light of Jesus shine on your brokenness, and you will soon be soaring like a beautiful butterfly.
I am still drawn to the beauty of those three letters, joy. The woman’s next shirt was white with a green turtle and the words “Merry Christmas” on it. Turtle was so appropriate for Isle of Palms, the place where I had found my joy. However, look at the word “joy,” as in “Joy to the world! The Lord has come.” How appropriate for the moment. Jesus is our only joy and only hope. Don’t wait for the joy as I did. It is always with us.
I knew this book had sparkles of joy and hope all over it. While this is a journey to new life, it has sparkles of joy throughout. Although I had to search for it, I found it one day while walking on the beach of Isle of Palms, sharing in retrospect all of the pain and heartache I had experienced. And so these messages are Holy Spirit-inspired words of hope, healing, and restoration. They were given to me to be shared with others who are in dark times. They are a journey of hope that never gave up, of healing and of restoration. My prayer is that they will bless you and draw you to the only one who can deliver and give freedom. Reach out your hand. He is waiting to take it as you journey to a new life.
This journey is a metaphor for the process. Your entire life is a journey and in every detail of it, including the suffering, God is sovereign and will use it for good. All of the bad is part of the process of your journey and God can redeem it all. Every moment of our life counts toward what God is doing in our life. God can redeem even our mistakes. In my personal journey, I have experienced several times of brokenness. There are times in my journey where I was left sitting in the midst of shock, shattered dreams, disbelief, fear, and a desire to turn back the clock. A thousand questions filled me. My world was spinning. These were times of great growth opportunity for me. While I did not see it at the time, in retrospect these times are what brought me the most healing and the opportunity to share that with others like you. My prayer is that, as you read my journey, you will relate and begin to put back together the pieces of your life. I hope this is one book that you will want to read over and over because you will receive hope from it. I believe its messages are meant to provide hope and light in dark times. Ultimately, this book is a catalyst. I am carrying you to Jesus and releasing you to take His hand and walk in relationship with Him to restoration.
We all have a story. And guess what? God cares about our story and our lives. While I don’t know what the enemy may have come to take from you, I do know that no one is immune from suffering. You have suffered. You will suffer. You will know someone who is suffering or will. Suffering is a part of life in a fallen world. Sometimes it is only at this place where we can learn to choose to fully surrender to Christ. If your brokenness is due to another person’s sin, it is important to remember that it is not your fault if another person hurts you. God wants to restore you as the daughter or son that you are!
Isaiah 35 is a beautiful reflection of what God does when He enters the scene. Imagine with me, if you will. You are in a desert with everything seeming to be lifeless. Isn’t this just how we feel when we experience a traumatic experience, loss, or other painful situation?