Meet my new friend Laurie! Can’t wait for you to read what she has to share…great stuff!
We all have a story to tell. We all live incredibly complex lives in the midst of an incredibly complex world. Yet, what blows my mind is that our stories are not truly our own. For, our story intersects the story––the story of Redemption.
This is where my story begins…
I met Jesus when I was 29. Quickly, my life and who I was began changing at rapid speed. Soon, I heard a call. It’s time to forgive, the Lord said. So, I embarked on journey following the One who would lead me toward healing and wholeness.
You see, nine years before this, I found myself sitting at a park, my mind reeling and attempting to make sense of my new reality, with little success. My dad had been murdered only days before. Anthony, the man who murdered my dad, was a mere five miles away in a jail cell. I thought of him. I thought of my dad. It all felt so meaningless. Like a waste.
Inundated with confusion, grief, and anger, I softly began to speak to my boyfriend, now husband, Travis. “They say that everything happens for a reason,” I said with my head down, playing with a blade of grass. “But how could there be a reason for this?” I wasn’t looking for a response, and Travis didn’t have one.
Nothing made sense to me. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what had happened. My dad was gone. Only days before, we were vacationing together, laughing, sitting atop our houseboat, watching the sun set. And now he was gone. My life would never be the same.
After the murder, forgiveness was something I aspired toward. I knew I needed to forgive in order to heal, yet I did not know the One who could bring the healing I so desperately needed. For nine years, I attempted to will myself into this place of healing, with little success.
So, when Jesus called me to love and forgive Anthony, I chose––through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit––to follow. What happened next was nothing less than a work of God. Not only did I receive healing from my past, but I witnessed Jesus redeem Anthony and bring him to a place of repentance. I saw Jesus bring good out of evil, love out of hate, and peace out of despair.
It was then that I began to understand that while God does not will evil to be done, He is faithful to use it for good. Just as Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
Honestly, I have seen the unimaginable happen. I know first hand that it is God’s intention to take the horrible chapters of our past and create beauty out of our darkness.
Toward the end of my journey, I heard Jesus say, Laurie, this is what your journey has been all about. Changing lives. Bringing good out of evil. Beauty out of ashes. This is where it’s at. Not in your past. But what I will do with your past if you will continue to follow me wherever I lead.
God is good. It is His desire to lift us out of our despair and our pain and bring us to a new place. A place that is rich in beauty and blessing. Yet, God has shown me that in order to get there, we must choose, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, to say yes. To say yes, my Lord, I will follow You. Yes, my Lord, I will obey Your commands. For, it is when we lay down our fear, our pride, and our resistance that we are able to experience life as He intended. The life that Jesus died for us to have.
This, my dear sisters, is where redemption happens.
I encourage you to lay down your wounds––past or present––before the Lord. A new story––a story of redemption––awaits you. Press in, and you will witness the power of our mighty God.
{A beautiful story of redemption awaits you.}
What wounds do you need to submit to the Lord for healing? Leave a comment or prayer request below!
Laurie Coombs is a writer who encourages others to draw closer to the heart of Jesus. She lives in Reno, Nevada with her husband, Travis. They have two little girls and are in the process of adopting one or two more children from Ethiopia. Be sure to visit Laurie on her Blog, LaurieCoombs.org, and on Twitter and Facebook.
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The heart wound I need healing has to do with my 2 oldest grandsons. I lost my daughter last October. My son-in-law has not let me have any contact with my grandsons. He blames me for my daughter being molested by her father while I was at work. I did not find out about this until 3 years later.
My oldest grandson had some mental/emotional issues and my daughter was home schooling. My son-in-law refused to believe there was anything wrong with his son, so he would not go to the doctor or psychologist with my daughter. A couple weeks after my daughter died, my son-in-law enrolled my grandson in public school.
I am trying not to be angry at my son-in-law and to pray for him and my grandsons. It just really hurts that I cannot be Nana to my grandsons.
Oh Teresa! My heart hurts for you. Here is my prayer:
Father God, You are the author of redemption. I pray that You will bring healing and restoration to this family. Be with Teresa and pour out Your perfect comfort and peace into her heart. Help her to rely completely on You, especially when she feels in despair. We pray that You will keep and protect her grandsons and that one day soon they will get to be with their Nana. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
I am praying for you Teresa!
I can’t even imagine what you’re going through, Teresa! And it is my prayer that you find encouragement and hope not in the particulars of your current reality but in the God who rules over it all! I’ll be praying for softened hearts (for your son-in-law), for reconciliation between the two of you, and healed hearts all around! The Lord is bigger than this… Praying.
You and your family are in my prayers, Teresa R.
WOW a very powerful story thanks for sharing Laurie!
One issue i have rigth now its with my sister in law.. she is so rude and mean to my mom and our side of the family.. It hurts me everytime my mom tells me of things that happend when she goes to visit my nephew/ her grandson.. my brother is on our side.. but cant see to figure out why his wife is acting like this.. I went to the Lord a few weeks ago and fogave her but now I am nervous about the next time my mom goes down.. which will be the end of October they are expecting again so my mom will go down when the baby is born and I need to pray that My sister in law will act civil! It is so uncomfrtable for me to even talk to her!
It can be so hard to deal with those who hurt those you love. I’ll be praying… God is good, and He can and does change hearts! Nothing is beyond His ability to Redeem!
Sorry to hear this, Meg. Yes, you’re right, pray for your SIL. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.
Wow, very powerful story! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Renee!
I have been neglecting to check in on the Live It Out blog for quite a few weeks now, regrettably, but I am SO happy that I came by this evening. Wow….this is such a powerful and raw story Laurie, thank you so much for sharing. I will be following your blog now, too, since forgiveness is something that I need to learn alot about.
My father was always in and out of my life (and now my half-brother, too). He was in enough for me to develop a deep emotional attachment to him and out enough for me to also develop a deep hatred. There are times I’ve hated myself for hating him, times where I’ve cried out to God begging Him to take away the hate and emotions, and more recently times where I’ve just said “OK, I’m going to forgive”.
There is something that I’ve wondered over the most recent couple of years, and maybe you, Laurie and Sarah, can help me with this. Is it still forgiveness if I still feel the hurt and indifference in my heart? For so many years I’ve desperately wanted to let this go, but the only way I seem to be able to is if I almost totally forget that I even have a father. There was a time in my younger 20s where I honestly tried to patch things with him, but the behavior and impartial treatment towards me just led me back to my hate. I feel paralyzed at even the thought of another “new” attempt..but is this even Bibically right? Can I forget that I have a father?
Sorry to ramble. Laurie, your story is so amazing and inspiring..it’s stories like this that make my look at my own self and question why I have so much trouble forgiving/forgetting my past…when there are people like you who have suffered such tragedies. You both are so wonderful…I hope that my 20s turn me out to be as great of women as you both are. Thank you for sharing your lives with us :)
Ashley, honey…HUGS to you, sweet thing. I love your honesty here. Two things come to mind in answering your question. First, it is ok to forgive and not forget. The key is to ask God to heal your heart and help you to see that HE loves you and that is enough. In my opinion, I think it is a matter of a new perspective rather than a matter of forgetting. When God commands us to forgive (Like in Matthew 18:21-22) I believe that He will pour into us what we need to heal our heart and move on. You can’t change the behaviors of others but you can change your perspective and how you deal with it. It is the burden of anger, even hatred, that you will be carrying around and that burden will affect the rest of your life. God doesn’t desire us to carry burdens like that.
I encourage you to pray that the Lord will restore the broken parts of your heart that were the result of your relationship with your father. Ask Jesus to give you a renewed perspective and to shine the light in the dark places of your heart where there might be anger. Ask Him to help you see how HE is your ultimate father who will never leave nor forsake you. And, I would pray for your dad–pray that God will work in your father’s life in a powerful way.
Does this help?
So glad you asked this question because I know others probably have the same feelings.
Hugs!
Thanks Sarah, of course that helps :) Your guidance and advice is always refreshing. For a long time I wondered why he wouldn’t fix my dad and why he let so much hurt overwhelm my life in that area. I’ve always loved God and knew Him, but it took all of my youth and into my early 20s to realize that I don’t have to carry the weight of feeling like I “need” an Earthy father, because I have had a Godly father ALL along. He has always been constant in my life, He has always been there when I needed to cry and He has always led me to peace and fulfillment. It’s hard to always remember that though, being human and driven so much by emotion and what’s happening “right-here-right-now”.
I like what you said about perspective, that is so true..and thank you for reminding me to pray for my dad..I definitely need to do that more.
Maybe it goes back to what Laurie said, something good comes out of the bad. Maybe it was His plan all along, in a way to lead me to Him and show me to be totally dependent on Him.
Thank you for the meaningful discussion and letting me know that it’s OK to not carry a burden around :)
Oh, Ashley, thank you for your encouraging words to me and for your honest question!
Honestly, I would echo all of what Sarah has said. Yet, I’d also like to address the part of your question pertaining to the desire to “forget” that you have a father. I know this feeling, and for years I attempted to try to forget about the man who murdered my dad, yet I was never quite able to do this. Inevitably, there will always be something that will remind you of your father. And if you have yet to allow Jesus to heal these wounds in your heart, all of those negative emotions will simply come flooding back up again.
Forgiveness, healing…these always begin with prayer! Prayer for you as well as prayer for those you need to forgive. For me, praying for the man who murdered my dad was very difficult in the beginning. I know this can be hard, but trust me, prayer is powerful, and when we choose to obey the Scriptures and pray for our “enemies” something big happens. (I’ll be getting into some examples of the impact of my prayers pertaining to Anthony on my blog soon.)
Additionally, the road toward forgiveness will look different for each of us, yet one thing remains the same. We must pray and follow Jesus wherever He leads. He is faithful to heal us of our past wounds and to use our past for our good and for His glory! It’s a beautiful thing!
I’ll be praying for you, and I’d love to answer any more questions you have along the way. Email me if you’d like at laurieacoombs@yahoo.com.
Blessings!!
Laurie
Thank you so much Laurie, you are right…eventually a small thought or reminder does flood the memories, even if trying to avoid it. You are right, I need to pray for this situation…if I cannot totally forget him, then pray for God to remove the hurt so I don’t have to remember the painful memories.
You are such a strong woman and a great role model through your story…even more good comes through your experience in that way. Thank you for bringing your story here and sharing with us, it was truly touching and inspiring :)