One day during middle school, I discovered that my father had left my mother. During the next several months, new emotions such as fear, loneliness, bitterness, and shame surrounded me like hyenas closing in on their prey. And depression seized me.

To mask the pain, I started binge eating. I stole cans of Betty Crocker Frosting from our kitchen pantry and stashed them underneath my bed with a spoon. Over the next nine months, I gained twenty-five pounds, increasing my misery.

Though I had heard of Jesus in church, this crisis highlighted the fact that He wasn’t a part of my life. A few months later in desperation, I decided to turn to Him. So I knelt alone in my room and pleaded, “Jesus, please come into my life. And please fix my family.”

The Bible says:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹

Finding Hope

After inviting Jesus to come into my life, I’d like to say that He waved His magic wand and fixed my family. But He didn’t. At home, nothing visibly changed. My father’s place at the dinner table still remained vacant. But I finally experienced a new peace. And I no longer felt alone.

When I started to read the Bible, I discovered that I had new lessons to learn in forgiving my dad. This wasn’t easy, especially after he divorced my mother. But over time as I grew in my relationship with Christ, the old emotions were replaced with new ones, such as peace, love, and hope.

Through my speaking, writing, and artwork, I have been growing in the healing process. And as I tell my story, many other women are joining me on the journey towards forgiveness and hope. My free ebook is a collection containing many of my stories and paintings. I invite you to sip a cup of coffee, take a few moments to breathe, and read through a few stories.

See: Beginning With Christ from NavPress

Bible Reference: 

¹ 2 Corinthians 5:17