Healing Hearts, Hope Restored
A new apostolate for sharing stories of hope, healing, and restoration
+JMJ+ For years, I have prayed for abuse survivors but I have also prayed for the grace to know how and when to help them. I felt God’s call to write Glimmers of Grace, start up this website and blog, and I do my best to (in my own little ways) offer hope and encouragement to others.
Not everyone feels called to share their stories as I have. Sometimes, God calls us to share certain aspects of our lives and sometimes He doesn't. Being able to help others by sharing about God's grace in our own lives can be therapeutic for us as well but not all the time. However inspirational parts of our lives may be, God may not necessarily want those experiences to be shared with others. It really is okay not to share! Some things are meant to be inspirational for us alone.
In my own life, allowing myself to be vulnerable about certain things can be very hard and there are days when I wonder if I’m doing any good at all, but it is what I feel God has called me to do at this point in time. This realization did not come without much prayer, reflection, and guidance. Following God's call in our lives is so important, even though we won’t always see the fruits of our labors. Don't forget that we were never promised that following His will would be easy, but we are promised that God will always be with us, assisting us with His tremendous graces. One of the things I have learned over the years is that trauma survivors (abuse survivors in particular) oftentimes do feel the need to be heard. Not everyone goes public with their story but some do. Again, that’s okay! Not everyone receives the same calling and no one should ever try to dissuade you from answering your own personal call. However, the individuals who do feel called to share their stories of suffering and hope often aren’t given the opportunity, nor do they have the platform to do so. I firmly believe that, whenever possible, survivors should be able to share their stories if they feel called to do so, and I want to do whatever I can to help provide a platform for that. Here is what I can do and I realize that it may not seem like much as I don’t have a particularly large following:
If you or a loved one has lived through abuse or any kind of trauma, I ask that you prayerfully consider sharing your stories illustrating God’s grace in your life with others who may be struggling. Feel free to reach out to me with your story of hope and healing and I will consider publishing it here on Faith Restored. Healing doesn’t look the same for all of us and our journeys are all unique. I want to honor that. My prayer is that this will be a therapeutic outlet for survivors but will also serve to help and encourage others who may be suffering under similar circumstances. You never know how your story could inspire and encourage others to hold onto Hope and to hold tight to their Faith! If writing isn’t your thing and you are artistically inclined in some other way (through music or art for example) and you want to share that, send me what you’ve got! It’s okay if you don’t consider yourself to be a natural writer. If you feel called to share something, I encourage you to pray for the grace to say what you need to say and then just say whatever comes to your heart. Also, on a side note, I will give full credit to you if I am able to include your story on my blog.
For now, I’m calling this apostolate of sorts,
Healing Hearts, Hope Restored
Stories of Hope, Healing, and Restoration
This is the name that came to mind in prayer and so this is what I'm going with for now. I will still be posting my usual encouraging posts and book reviews on my Faith Restored blog whenever I can (with Baby coming soon, I may be slowing down a bit on those posts) but this part of the blog will be solely for other survivors.
I'll be posting my first story very soon. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!
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