From Pumpkin to Jack O Lantern

When I started my Healing Ministry a few months ago, I had thought that I was on the other side of pain.  Boy, was I wrong about that!  As it turns out, we're never really on the other side of pain, we're just in a different stage of it.
The big question is, how do we deal with it?  Ha!  That's a tricky one. Drinking a little too much wine? Hanging with the people that tell you what you think you want to hear? Dancing with the devil a little bit?  Been there, done that!  As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that workin for ya?"
For me, it led to prescription drugs, bad parenting, the verge of divorce and an in patient stay at the looney bin a few years back. Needless to say, it didn't work out too well for me!  Not everybody goes to those extremes when "dealing" with a hurt or heartache.  Some of us bury it, fake it, perform for each other and pretend that our lives are perfect!  Ahh....gotta love that word, PERFECT!  Women go through life thinking we have to be something we're not to impress others...what if we just decided to be there for each other?  What if we decided to minister to each other and stop judging each other? What if we were just on each other's team in this thing?
We don't think we have healthy outlets so the suffering that we have endured throughout our lives just builds up inside of us until one day, it takes over who we are!

I compare it to the gunk inside of a pumpkin that you have to dig and scoop out before carving your Halloween Jack O Lantern!  

God began whispering to me about this gift He gave me a few years back but fear held me back from truly listening to Him and acting on it.  He finally hit me over the head with a 2x4 and I have now started my journey in obedience to Him.  I am called to help women dig through the hurt, the pain that they have endured and finally live life free of the chains that bind them.  
I searched and searched for a bible study that I could lead for women in my church and friends of mine, but nothing jumped out at me.  There wasn't a book or a study that said the things that I felt God wanted me to convey.
 Then, I realized, "Jen, you have endured more pain in your 42 years than you ever thought possible, just do it yourself!" So, here I am.  

My ministry, my blog, my calling is to help women shepherd each other through the hurt they have experienced.  Divorce, death, abuse, infidelity, teen problems, abortions, blended marriages, eating disorders, etc etc etc...
God is calling me to help dig out the gunk, address it, recognize it, face it and get it all out so that all of us can put a candle in our "jack o lantern" and let our light shine the way He intended!

My oldest brother died in a car accident when I was 8 years old....that was the beginning of my journey of faith and pain and let me tell you, I'm in the center of a huge storm right now in my life, but I believe that Jesus Christ, my redeemer, along with faithful Christian women will help me continue to let my light shine!  My fear fades every single day because of the gift that I am finally being obedient to.

 In my blog, you will be reading bits and pieces of my story, but most importantly, you will be reading how to survive through the love of Christ and hope that other Christian women can give to each other. 
James 5:16 says, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."

This is my journey Called Heartwork...finding purpose through pain.