Chrystal Evans Hurst - Shes Still There Bible Study Guide: Rescuing the Girl in You

A s a young girl, my parents encouraged me to live with wonder. My teachers gave me the courage to explore, my friends allowed me the chance to play, and my world offered me the opportunity to learn and grow. Fall and spring days were full with homework, school activities, and play with neighborhood friends. The summer months held visits to my grandparents, slumber parties with cousins, and long, boring days with an occasional trip to the library.

I had hopes and dreams and a picture of what my grown-up life might look like. I imagined my future family, my future career, and all the future places I would live. I figured I would either be a teacher or a famous actress and that I would live close to my family but have a second home near the beach. Every book I read and every person I met introduced me to more of the world that I could experience.

My youth wasnt perfect, but less-than-perfect didnt stop me from growing. I accepted my childhood for what it was: part of the process of my progress through life. I leaned into the living, believing that all the beautiful and unpleasant parts of my current and future picture would someday make sense if I just kept going. I believed all parts of my lifethe good, the bad, and the uglycould come together in the hands of the person who gave me life.

Fast-forward several years into the future. I am driving down the tollway in Dallas, headed home from another day at work, where I had spent hours stuffed in a cubicle, checking a million boxes with a red pen. My brain is about to explode. I hate my job. The clock crawls from the moment I sit in my chair until the time it is reasonable for me to run out the door at the end of the day. It feels as if I am gasping for fresh air.

In that moment, I pray, God, if you would just break both of my legs, that would make everything better. In my stressed-out, overwhelmed, off-track mode of thinking, I wish for the shelter of a hospital room to provide some time to assess where I had gotten off track and formulate a plan for making my life more like I had imagined it would be.

I hadnt intended to end up in a job I didnt love. I hadnt intended to be a single parent. I hadnt intended to have a heart still raw from the hurt imposed by others. It had never been my dream to fight my way through the academic challenges and personal struggles of my college years only to end up feeling deflated. I had filled my balloon of hope with expectations and dreams only to realize that I had not tied it tightly enough.

I would love to tell you that in those moments driving down the tollway and thinking like a crazy person, I magically gained clarity on how I had gotten off track. Id like to say that I never got off track again. I would love to tell you that I figured all of it out right then and there and that Ive had it all figured out since.

The truth is that I havent solved everything. I have gained an understanding over time, which is what I will share with you in this study, but I still dont have all the answers. But the truth is also that I didnt self-destruct that day in the car. I chose to keep driving. Even while the tears streamed down my face and I cried out to God for help. I kept going for one reason and one reason alone: I believed my girl was still there.

Even if she seemed lost, invisible, and forgotten, I believed that God could still make a masterpiece out of her. Maybe youve felt the same way. Maybe youve been a crazy woman like me and begged God to help you fix your life, get unstuck, and get it together. Maybe youve thought about what extreme measure you could take to stop the pain and heartache.

If so, I want to tell you that your girl is still there. Your uniquely beautiful life is an original work of art designed for your good and for the glory of the one who orchestrated your existence... even if it doesnt look like it at this moment. You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously. Your life matters. The girl of your dreams matters. No matter how far you think youve drifted away from her, shes still there.

My prayer is that at the end of this study, you will be motivated to get to the business of choosing to believe in the gift of you. My hope is that you will act as if the girl in you is still there and be willing to do whatever it takes to participate in her rescue. Most important, I pray that you will choose to give the gift of understanding, encouragement, and truth to someone else who needs to believe her life still matters. We girls need each other.

T he Shes Still There video study is designed to be experienced in a group setting such as a Bible study, Sunday school class, or any small-group gathering. Each session begins with a brief opening reflection and talk about it questions to get you and your group thinking about the topic. You will then watch a video with Chrystal Evans Hurst and jump into some directed small-group discussion. You will close each session with a time of prayer as a group.

Each person in the group should have her own study guide, which includes video teaching notes, Bible study and group discussion questions, and between-sessions personal studies to help you reflect on and apply the material to your life during the week. You are also encouraged to have a copy of the