Category Archives: Brokenness

Chemotherapy Burned Away Self-Hatred

Eve Ensler

Eve Ensler was physically and sexually abused by her father while growing up. This drove her to become an activist and playwright. She gained a very controversial yet monumental role in women’s rights.

She has spent most of her life talking, listening, traveling the world, helping women. Ensler met women who were raped in Bosnia, cut in Kenya, destroyed in Afghanistan. She used the very thing that had broken her to encourage women. She urged them not to become bound by the awful things that happened.

While she is a controversial activist and playwright Ensler carries another title proudly: cancer survivor. Eve was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Three days later she had a nine-hour operation. She lost many organs and nodes. It was a life changing event.

It was through her illness that she began to experience true healing. According to an interview she had on the Today Show, “For years I carried around such darkness, such sorrow, such self-hatred. When I would sit with the port and five hours of chemotherapy juice would go into my body I would visualize it burning away.”

Ensler challenged women to respect their bodies no matter what society says. She struggled with the same insecurities as the women she encountered all over the world. She disassociated herself from her violated body. She felt ashamed of what had happened to her.

She also believed the lies of western society that define beauty and determines what a woman is expected to look like. Who would have thought that her diagnosis of cancer would become the wake up she needed all along?

Armed with this new self-awareness and love for her life she has been able to more effectively communicate with women. Eve has been able to help women overcome obstacles.

These women learn how to begin rebuilding their life. This is a broken world filled with broken people who hope for wholeness.

There is hope. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to give each of us the opportunity to begin again. He took the pain of our failures on His shoulders. He bore the pain of our brokenness on His back. He is willing to give you new life and new hope.

It begins with a simple prayer: “Dear Jesus, I am sorry for the wrong things I have done. I am broken and need healing. I am tired of the pain life dealt me. Please give me new life as I declare You to be Lord and Savior of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen!”

If you prayed that prayer, click the button below and someone will contact you to help you take the next step toward wholeness.

-Kateyn Flowers

 

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Jay Paterno Gives Emotional Message to Joe

Jay Paterno, broke down during a post-game interview with ESPN, not because the Penn State football team lost, but because of the shame cast on his father, Joe. “Dad, I wish you were here. We love you."

Joe Paterno reportedly lost his head coaching post  because of a scandal involving defensive coach, Jerry Sandusky.  Life is like that sometimes. The wrong actions of one person reverberate and impact countless others.

Everyone faces brokenness at one time or another.  It could have been a broken heart. It could have been broken dreams, but life often deals us a blow that leaves us wounded and wishing for answers

In this case, the alleged victims lives were shattered by someone they trusted. Their lives are filled with the pain of betrayal. But the impact of the child molestation didn’t end there.

The Penn State community, the Paterno family and Jerry Sandusky’s family, all feel the pain caused by inappropriate behavior or worse.  None of them could have imagined all of the negative attention one person’s behavior caused. Yet each of them must somehow pick up the pieces and learn to live again.

You may not be a world renowned football coach and perhaps the press isn’t knocking on your door trying to make headlines out of your failures, but you still know brokenness.  It might be a love lost, a job taken by the economic downturn or something far deeper, but somewhere along the line you have longed for someone to make you whole again.

This is a broken world filled with broken people who hope for wholeness.  There is hope.

 Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to give each of us the opportunity to begin again. He took the pain of our failures on His shoulders. He bore the pain of our brokenness on His back.  He is willing to give you new life and new hope. 

It begins with a simple prayer: “Dear Jesus, I am sorry for the wrong things I have done. I am broken and need healing. I am tired of the pain life dealt me. Please give me new life as I declare You to be Lord and Savior of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen!”

If you prayed that prayer today, click the button below and someone will contact you to help you take the next step toward wholeness.

- Bill Hennessy 

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Broken Hearts and Broken Dreams

Hearts are broken every day.  It is such a common experience that songs are written about it every day.  Singing about it doesn’t make the experience any easier if you are the one with a broken heart.

Many people seem to become desperate when they lose love. They seek a replacement for the feelings they enjoyed before they were broken hearted without really asking why the last relationship was destroyed.  Many times the next relationship causes even more pain.  Love lost hurts!

Your broken heart cannot be healed by exposing yourself to further hurt.  Instead, you must allow your brokenness to reveal what lies hidden in your heart.  When you do, you can restore many of your broken dreams.

If you’ve been hurt in a relationship, you can learn to love again! The first step is to acknowledge that you made some mistakes in how you related to your loved one.  You can take the problem to God and ask for His help.

Mending a broken heart can seem impossible but God will help you.  You can begin by telling God: “ Dear Jesus, My heart is broken.  I feel hurt and wounded. I know I hurt (him/her) too. Please forgive me for all of the wrongs I have done and heal my broken heart. I know I made mistakes. I know that I need your help to go on. Please become Lord and Savior of my life and make me whole again, in Jesus’ name. Amen!” That prayer can open the door to a relationship with God that can restore your broken dreams and mend your broken heart.

- Bill Hennessy

Moving Past Brokenness

Love can be as fragile as a flower. Perhaps that is why so many people are broken hearted.  If you have experienced a broken heart, you know that it is difficult to learn to love again.  Along with the love lost, you must also deal with broken dreams and the flood of deep emotions that follow.

Is mending a broken heart possible?  Yes.  Brokenness is a common problem, but there is hope in Jesus. Why? Because Jesus loves you so much that He paid the price for your brokenness on the cross of Calvary. The Bible declares that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

If you are broken hearted today, you need a trustworthy friend you can rely on no matter what comes. Jesus can be that friend for you.  He can help you to learn to love again. He can help you to find the emotional healing you so desperately need.

Finding healing for your broken heart begins when you talk to God about your pain. It is important to acknowledge that everyone in a relationship bear some responsibility when things go wrong. You can pray to God and say something like this: “Dear Jesus. You know my heart is broken.  I am sorry for the pain I caused to you and to .  Please forgive me and heal my broken heart. I want to heal and live for you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” Why not begin that conversation with Jesus right now?

- Bill Hennessy

Learning to Love Again

 

A broken heart is very hard to mend. If you have gone though the loss of a relationship, you know that it is more than simply being broken hearted, you also must cope with broken dreams.

Mending a broken heart requires risk. You must be willing to love again to really mend your heart.  If you cannot allow yourself to express love, you cannot really receive it either.  God understands that all of us go through times when our hearts are broken. He sent His own son into the world so that healing can begin. He allowed Jesus to bear the price of our pain on the cross of Calvary.

When I came to Christ, my broken heart found healing. Jesus forgave my sins and provided me with love for those who had wounded me.  Instead of saying “My heart is broken, I cannot love again.” I was filled with a sense of awe that God loved me even when I wounded Him with my sin.

Jesus is willing to take your brokenness and replace it with real joy. He can show you how to love again and stand by you as you take that risky step of expressing your love for another.  Best of all, God offers us a relationship with Him that brings healing to us and to those we love.

If you suffer from a broken heart today, there is hope!  You can learn to love again and you can experience unconditional love that will set you free from the pain that has bound you for so long.  Why not ask Jesus for help today?

- Bill Hennessy

Mending a Broken Heart

A broken heart is unmistakable. Nothing else in the world is so obvious just by looking at another person.  Brokenness affects all of us at one time or another.  It might be the loss of a parent, a spouse or someone we thought was “that someone special,” but there is no loss on earth like a lost relationship.

We can become defensive. We can send others the message: “My heart is broken” and it will keep people away from us.  We can allow it to color our lives. It can be what frames our reality.  I must guard my broken heart, so I will not allow you near me. In the end, you have a decision to make. Decide to go on living.

Mending a broken heart isn’t easy.  It isn’t just the relationship loss that hurts; it is the broken dreams that go along with it.  It might even seem like the pain will go on forever, but it doesn’t have to. Many a broken hearted person has gone on to find real love further down the road.

If you are broken hearted today, I have great news for you. Jesus Christ knows exactly how to heal a broken heart. He cares about you and wants to mend your broken dreams.  All you need to do is ask.

Here is a simple prayer you can pray today: Dear Jesus, Thank you for loving me unconditionally, even when others do not.  I need your love, help and forgiveness to heal from my broken heart. Please love me as your child and show me the way forward. I commit my life to you today.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

-Bill Hennessy

Mending a Broken Heart

An old pop song asked the question: “How can you mend a broken heart?” It’s a timeless question for a timeless problem.  Each of will experience broken dreams at one time or another. It’s a part of the human condition.  

Relationships can be complicated and often evaporate before our eyes.  In that moment, we know that few things can sooth a broken heart.  God understands that pain and He is willing to help.  

God was broken hearted by the actions of Adam and Eve in the garden. He was broken hearted by the actions of David and Bathsheba. Most of all, He was broken hearted by the actions of those who took His sinless son, Jesus Christ condemning Him to the cross at Calvary.

BUT, I have great news for you today!  Because Jesus went to that cross, because He was sinless, He was able to pay the price of our own sin and brokenness once and for all!  The key to mending a broken heart is finding a relationship with Jesus!

If you’ve suffered a broken heart, it is possible for you to find healing.  Begin with a simple prayer: Dear Jesus, I admit that I have broken dreams. I admit that my heart is broken today.  Please forgive me of the wrongs I have done and restore me by taking my broken heart  away forever!  Thank you for salvation today.  In Jesus’ name. Amen!”

 

-Bill Hennessy

The Secret to Mending a Broken Heart

 I really enjoy connecting with friends on Facebook. I am not talking about those who ask to be your “Friend” and you don’t have a clue in the world as to who they are. I mean friends from the early years, friends through the years, and friends today. I am glad to read of the victories and joys of my friends such as graduations, marriages, children, promotions, and the like. At the same time, I am saddened deeply to read of the broken dreams and the broken heart of my friends due ton illness, death, divorce, and even the consequences of bad decisions.

I can definitely relate with my friends’ joys and brokenness! Like you, I have had my seasons of victory and times when my heart was broken. Strangely, we feel that the good times are our inalienable right and we never, under any circumstance, deserve the bad times. The fact is that life is filled with good and bad! That’s the reality our daily walk.

The truth test of our character during life’s journey is found not in the good seasons of life but rather during the seasons of trials and, especially during the seasons of brokenness. To whom, or to what, do you turn to find peace and joy in the midst of these character-testing seasons? My testimony is that the secret to mending a broken heart is to turn to Jesus Christ and allow Him to bring healing.

Jesus understands the ebb and flow of life. He is there for you when you are on the mountain top rejoicing and, even more importantly, He is there for you in your defeats. He remains with you during your isolation and long after your disappointment, your failure, and the betrayal of the one that you trusted. It is my experience that He alone can take your brokenness and make your whole again.

I share this with you because you are my friend and Jesus is my friend. My prayer is that you two will connect and be friends as well.

-Bill Hennessy