A broken world makes for broken stories.
Recently I have had the absolute honor of being trusted with stories from girls who have a past like mine, and the biggest question they want answered is why. Why do I have to deal with this pain? Why didn’t someone tell me sooner? Why did God allow this to happen to me? They are great questions, and ones I sadly don’t have the answer to but I do have some encouragement.
For years I asked the same question, why? Why did I make decisions I would later regret? Why did I have to go through such pain and heart ache just to get back to where I started? It has only been recently that God has given me a glimpse as to why he allowed me to go through heartache. When I get to sit down with teenage girls or talk to girls at events and youth groups I get a glimpse of how God is using my pain.
Each time I get to share my story and girls can relate God whispers to me, “I use broken stories for my kingdom” and oh how it is true. Stories change lives, your misery and pain can help someone in the same misery or pain. You never know who you will be talking to in years to come that has been through the same tragedy as you. God uses our mess of a lives for his great glory and only a great God could do that. Even in our mess he is present. The verse I live by is Genesis 50:20
“20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Whatever you’ve gone through, God can use it. He can take your ashes and make them beautiful.
Taylor - Great point Tindell! The way I think about it sometimes is that we are so “engrossed” in our own story we often miss or don’t understand the bigger story God is trying to tell. It can be so hard but also amazing to look back and see why God allowed certain things and how they all fit together.
A South Georgia Friend - Tindell, Thank you for being so willing to see Jesus through your pain. While I did not choose the same path as you, I did grow up with an alcoholic parent and spent much of my teenage years questioning “why?” Later I discovered how God could use my pain to minister to young girls dealing with similar circumstances. I recently heard Beth Moore state, (not quoting) it may seem that our circumstances are sometimes unfair, but if God sees that in the end our pain may produce the edification of the body of Christ, the glorification of the Holiest of Holies, or the salvation of the lost, then He may find our trials permissable. Yes, we must learn to see Jesus through the pain.