Can you break a heart
that has never been whole?
Can you crush a soul
that is already torn?

But this is a beating heart;
this is a living soul.
There is so much left to unfold.

I know you are hurting,
hiding with your shame and sadness.
I know you are coming apart,
breaking under the weight of this life.
I know you are about to give up,
drowning beneath the pain and despair.

But hear now, dear one -
Lift up your face, lift up your eyes.
Lift up your soul, lift up your heart.

There is mercy greater than your sin and shame.
There is grace greater than any of your mistakes.
There is hope, there is rest.

So come as you are, broken and hopeless.
Come as you are, fragile and fractured.
Come find mercy and grace,
come find love greater than anything you are.

There is sadness buried in her heart,
broken dreams and frozen hopes
shattering a wounded soul.
But all she says is, there is still hope.

Because broken, frail and torn
is where God makes us anew,
and sometimes it takes darkness
for us to finally see the light.

Now there is laughter in her eyes,
joy in the way her mouth curves up in a smile,
a sparkle so bright
it leaves a trail of light after her.

I look at the old scars
faded on your wrist now
and I pray you come to realize
you already made it through one time

Now your new scars
the wounds gaping open in your heart
and I pray you choose to believe now
you can make it through this time

A broken heart can heal with time
wounds will close
scars will fade
but memories can be the most painful of all
so you have to choose to push them away

Yet there is a promise to hold on to
that there is Light to see you through the pain
He will not leave you, He will not change
He is here with you
God, He remains

I was asked, why do I write and all I could think of to say,
was because I believe.

I believe looks matter.
There is
healing in a look of compassion,
love in understanding,
comfort in tears cried with me.

But one look away, ignoring
can break a heart.


I believe touch matters.
There is
care enclosed in a hug,
relief in a hand placed on a shoulder,
encouragement in a touch on the passing by.

But pulling away, distance
can break a heart.


I believe words matter.
There is
acceptance in words of forgiveness,
restoration in mercy and grace,
healing in kind, soothing whispers.

But one word out of bitterness, hatred
can break a person.


I write because I believe words matter.
I write because I believe you matter.

Sometimes it takes
thousands of words
to heal a broken soul

and I want to tell you,

I will write
word after word,
paragraph after paragraph,
page after page.
As long as it takes,
I will write until you finally believe
that you matter.

come as you are
out of your hiding place
out of your captivity

for your heart is safe
in the hands of Him who made you
broken
and beaten
lost and as if worthless
He will hold all the pieces

because see, you were bought at a price
He called you chosen on the cross
and He knows
your shame, your mistakes
your hurt and your pain
you are precious in His sight

so come out of hiding
let go of your fear
take refuge in His strength
and call yourself free,
beloved

I think of you
and I cry, even after all this time
because you stole pieces of me
and my heart will never be the same.

There are still days
it feels like I am learning to breathe
under water, the waves crashing over me
and I wonder,
if I will ever find my way out of the water.

But I have found so much better now —
His grace gently washing over my soul,
soft whispers of peace in the wind,
rays of light waking my heart,
and I hold on to hope.

So I still cry,
these broken tears shaking my heart
but it is only so that I can let go —
less of me, for more of Him.

Some days I wonder
if you are holding on to those pieces of me
or are you trying to forget them, too.
But I know,
God is turning my darkness into light
and I am better off now
than I was before.