Wounded Healer

A couple of years ago, God had revealed some areas of brokenness in my life that had become the building blocks to my distorted view of my identity. On the phone with Colleen and Steve, I told them what God had shown me. Part of me was excited to discover a new place to embrace my brokenness. I had been experiencing significant spiritual breakthroughs, and the revealing of those broken places meant opportunities to find healing. But another part of me was dreading the.…

If you are an amateur golfer like me, who celebrates when his score is under triple digits, then perhaps you are familiar with the term ‘mulligan’. In golf terms, a mulligan is a do-over. In friendly groups, you may be given a mulligan or two over the course of 18 holes. If you hit an errant shot at a crucial moment, just yell “mulligan!”, and that stroke won’t count against your score. You get a free attempt to hit the ball again. Unlike your…

With clammy hands, I gathered my reins and nudged my horse forward toward the starting gate. I had just witnessed another rider get crushed by her horse, whose misstep at 20+ miles per hour caused it to dive to the ground and roll on its back. It frantically got up, but its rider didn’t. A team of people carried her out in a stretcher and an ambulance took her to the nearest hospital. While the course was being reset, I was reminded that my love for barrel racing was…

Ephesians 4:32 is a heartwarming invitation from God: “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” These words serve as a loving blueprint for our relationships and urge us to mirror the Father’s love in our interactions. God’s instruction is clear: Be kind. Compassion must be the foundation of our actions. It helps us to be tenderhearted and empathetic. Understanding the joys and sorrows…

Myra Hindley was one of the most notorious murderers of the twentieth century. Her crimes were almost unbelievably horrific. Yet, one person took it upon himself to visit her regularly while she was in prison. Lord Longford (1905–2001) was a controversial figure who spent much of his life visiting prisoners, including Myra Hindley. Yet, no one can doubt his compassion and his faithfulness, both to God and to those he visited. When he died, former prisoners joined…

God gives Adam some instructions on the care of creation and his role in the unfolding story. It's pretty basic, and very generous (see Gen. 2:16-17). But notice what God doesn't tell Adam. There is no warning or instruction over what is about to occur: the Temptation of Eve. This is just staggering. Notably missing from the dialogue between Adam and God is something like this: "Adam, one more thing. A week from Tuesday, about four in the afternoon, you and…

Even when their path winds through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. (Psalm 84:6 - The Passion Translation) Lord, thank you for allowing me to go through the difficult seasons. There was a time in my life when I never thought I would say those words, but now I look back and see how glorious those dark times really were. In the midst of my…

The strength of my emotional reaction to a problem is correlated with how closely that situation gets to touching my personal wounds. We all have wounds, whether from serious trauma in our lives or from the all-too-common mini-tragedies of being human in a broken world. If we don't truly heal from a wound, we find ways to escape the pain. We cover it up with distractions, numbing agents, and/or with our anger. But once covered, we do not want to uncover a wound. There…

When we encounter difficulties, we might wonder why God allows those painful situations. How do we reconcile our suffering with His love for us and His power to prevent or stop it? In order to understand what’s going on, we need to consider the possible sources of adversity. A Fallen World: When sin entered the world, suffering came with it. So we might wonder why God didn’t simply make us like puppets that were unable to choose sin. But if we lacked free will, we&rsquo…