Cindi McMenamin - When a Woman Overcomes Lifes Hurts: Discover the Healing and Wholeness God Has for You

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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WHEN A WOMAN OVERCOMES LIFES HURTS

Copyright 2012 by Cindi McMenamin

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McMenamin, Cindi, 1965-

When a woman overcomes lifes hurts / Cindi McMenamin.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN 978-0-7369-4858-6 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-4859-3 (eBook)

1. Christian womenReligious life. 2. Consolation. 3. SufferingReligious aspectsChristianity. 4. PainReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.

BV4527.M43275 2012

248.8'43dc23

2011045883

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

For the precious women who have shared their pain in the pages of this book. You, my friends, are living examples of the healing and wholeness that only God can provide.

And for every woman who picks up this book seeking to overcome lifes hurtsmy prayer is that you will come face-to-face with the Gentle Healer who has been waiting to turn your brokenness into something absolutely beautiful.

My heartfelt thanks to

my husband, Hugh, and daughter, Dana, for their unconditional love for me.

my brother, Dan, for his ability to look beyond my wounds and focus on the transforming work God continues to do in me.

my friends and partners in prayer who have upheld me through the writing of yet another book: Chris Castillero, Cyndi Evans, Theresa Fusco, Sue Laird, Cyndie Lester, Allison Martin, Lisa Pacheco, Debbie Patrick, Mary Purviance, Terri Smalls, Ashley Tarr, and Barbara Willett.

my editor, Steve Miller, and the publishers committee at Harvest House Publishers for believing in the need for this book.

And above all, Im grateful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who did what it took so you and I could be whole and complete.

W ouldnt it be wonderful to be able to say, My life has turned out exactly the way I dreamed!?

I suppose if you could say that, youd be in heavenliterally.

But maybe, instead, you feel like youve been through hell.

Perhaps youve struggled withor are still struggling througha painful childhood, a broken relationship, a bitter divorce, the loss of someone you loved, the devastation of a dream, the diagnosis of a disease, or the deep disappointment that comes when life takes a sudden turn you didnt want or expect.

The wounds in life abound. And sometimes they are compounded, one upon the other, making us wonder Whats going on? and What did I do to deserve this ? At times we ask Where are You, God? Dont You care? and Why do I have to hurt like this? Regardless of what your particular painful situation is, if youve struggled with the Why? questions, you are not alone.

From as far back as she can remember, Cyndi has seen death all around her. Tragic death. Unexpected death. Death that no one talked about or explained or acknowledged. There was a time when she began to wonder why her life included so much sorrow and tears.

Sharon looks back on her childhood and finds no one no one who wanted her or loved her. Her mother, who tried to kill her when she was just a year old, was sent to live in a psychiatric hospital. Her father resented her ever since, and abused her physically and sexually until her teenage years. Then she married and was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer shortly before her marriage ended. Sharon remembers days when she prayed to die in order to escape her physical, emotional, and spiritual pain, but believed God wouldnt let her die because she wasnt good enough to get into heaven.

Deanna grew up with a critical mother and a father who remained emotionally distant from her, only to discover later that they were her adoptive parents and her real story was a secret. Feeling for years that she had a shameful past no one was willing to talk about and that she was unwanted and unloved, she finally married and felt loved for the first timeuntil she discovered that her husband was having a longtime affair with her best friend. There were times when she felt like a walking ghost, numb to anyone and anything around her.

And Christina was raised to run from the law, learning at an early age to produce drugs to make money for and feed the habit of her drug-addicted mother. Foraging through dumpsters for food and taking care of her four younger siblings as a young preteen, she often wondered if shed ever have a normal lifeone she could at least talk about with others.

I have many more stories I could share. And all of these women would tell you today that there is a reason for the wounds theyve experienced. Anyone who knows those women, too, will tell you that they are some of the most remarkable women theyve ever known. Their pain led to their purpose. Their brokenness added to their beauty. Their suffering made them stronger. And they are no longer women who ask Why? Amazingly, too, they are no longer women who consider themselves wounded.

As I wrote this book, I didnt look for women who were spiritual giants and were making a significant difference in the world and then ask them about their past hurts. I started with the wounds. I asked around for women who had come from the worst of the worst. I wanted to hear the stories of women who had endured heartache and then somehow moved beyond lifes hurts. And what I found as I talked with many of them was thatfrom their perspectivetheir disappointment, loss, and hurt wasnt nearly as significant as their deliverance. They were focused not on their frustrations but on their futures, not on their hurts but on helping others.

These women had endured pain, but their lives are now all about Gods plan and purpose. They are examples of how God can take broken women just like you and me and turn them into beautiful women with a passion for life. So this book is not merely about dealing with heartache and wounds. Its about encouragement and inspiration and moving beyond lifes hurts and heartaches and into a place of hope and purpose. Its about how you can overcome lifes hurts and experience Gods healing and wholeness, and how you can offer that same healing and wholeness to others.