Tami K. Fox - Finding Joy in Brokenness: Mosaics of the Heart

Finding Joy in Brokenness

mosaics of the heart

Tami k. Fox

Blessed Beyond Measure Publishing

Hickory, North Carolina

Finding Joy in Brokenness

Mosaics of the Heart

Copyright 2018 Tami Fox

All rights reserved.

Published by Blessed Beyond Measure Publishing

Hickory, North Carolina

ISBN: 978-0-9998456-3-9

Cover & Interior Design by Jonathan Lewis | Jonlin Creative

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or placed into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of both the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover Photo: iStockPhoto.com/thawats

This book is dedicated to my wonderful family, including my parents, a very supportive husband and six beautiful children. Most especially, this book is dedicated to my grandparents who are dearly loved and greatly missed. My family lived out the example of loving others. Cheering me on, even on the darkest days, my faithful friends have stood by my side. Thank you all! I couldnt have done it without you.

Contents

introduction

My faith is the single reason that I can choose joy on the hard days. For many of us, it is easy to find joy in the good times but the challenge comes in finding joy in the hard times. This series of devotions is written to help you to find your joy when life doesnt go as planned.

My prayer for you is that you will know the source of true joy and will have peace that comes from this joy. These lessons have been born out of my journey in raising my children and my own personal struggles and victories. Last year I bought a necklace with a charm on it that says, Finding Joy in the Journey. I wear it to remind myself that joy truly is found in the journey.

True joy can only be found in the Scriptures, my hope is that you will dig deeply into study and reflection of the Word of God presented here. Journal your thoughts so that at the end of the study, you can look back and see how you found joy in your journey.

Feel free to jump right in or go through the lesson in sync with the days of the month. Each chapter stands on its own so do what works best for you.

A broken heart can be put back together

like a stained glass mosaic.

Beauty can come from the brokenness

when it is put back together

through love and patience.

Tami Fox

Chapter One

Making Peace With Your Past

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a

quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Colossians 3:13

Most of us have people in our lives that have hurt us deeply and have events from our past that stand out in our minds as times of great pain. While the wounds can seem overwhelming, it is possible to work your way through the valley of pain and into abundant, joyful living.

There are many things that have happened to me that have caused scars on my heart. For example, I have worked through feelings of abandonment by seeking God and spending countless hours reading my Bible. Even then, it took a very long time for healing to take place. I rested in the truth that no matter who had failed me on this earth, God would never fail me and He is always with me. He knows my past, present, and future. In the middle of a trial, its hard to believe that good can come from the bad. However, because He is in control of everything, He uses the hard things that have happened in our lives for His good.

My family is one of my greatest blessings in my life. I was adopted as an infant and I have no information about my biological parents. Through the love of my adoptive parents, I became a part of an amazing family.

Unfortunately, my adoptive parents divorced and my mother and I moved near her parents. At one point in my childhood, my grandparents had me, my mother, and my two brothers living with them. Through this three-generational home, I learned how a family takes care of one another

Later on, as my great-grandparents aged, they were also brought into our home. At one point, we had four generations in one house! We enjoyed weekly gatherings of extended family including aunts, uncles and cousins because everyone lived nearby. Although our loving home with four generations is not common, its what I considered normal.

My adoptive father married a beautiful lady and they had two children. I wasnt able to see him very often because he was in the military and stationed overseas for most of my childhood. Occasional visits and correspondence over the years kept us in touch. Although we rarely got together, we have all healed, moved forward and now enjoy a loving relationship.

My family tree looks a bit unusual, but it is has shaped the wife and mom that I am today. Through the experiences I had growing up, I learned how to love, nurture, and take care of family. What a beautiful and blessed life I have! I choose to not dwell on the negative things that have happened in my past, but to rejoice over the things that have blessed and taught me.

If you are hurting from things that have happened in your past, you can let it go. Start with prayer and writing. Ask God to help you and then, let Him work. It may be difficult, but you can do it.

Read your Bible. When I am going through trials, I find it comforting to read Psalms and Proverbs. The New Testament is full of teaching and comfort. I enjoy reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John during hard times. It gives me the real Hope for the future. Jesus is the Hope. He is the giver of peace.

Talk to spiritual mentors or your pastor. When you are going through a trial, you get tunnel vision. Talking to someone and seeking Godly counsel can help you see other sides to the situation. Having someone pray specifically for you can give you the strength and courage you need to face the situation. Godly counsel from others is something many people neglect because of pride. They do not want to admit to someone else that they have a problem.

Having gone through the hardest valley of my life recently, having Godly counsel helped bring resolution to the situation. Clarity in seeing the different options came from the Godly counsel I received. I was prayed for daily, and I was checked on daily to see how things were going. It made a difficult valley easier with someone sharing my burden.

Journaling allows time and a safe place to process and release hurtful thoughts and feelings. It chronicles the journey so that, in the future, it can bring encouragement and a reminder of how God has worked in your life. If you need a way to symbolically let go of hurts and intense pain, it can help to write them down on paper and then burn them. In the darkest times of deep distress, remember to write down the good and the bad. All of it is used by God to create a beautiful mosaic in your life.

Making peace with your past provides the place for joy. Dont give up! It takes time, prayer, and patience.