I understand the passage in the writings of Isaiah concerning our Lord, Jesus Christ, "He was a man of sorrows and acquained with grief."  Not only his own grief, his own burdens of rejection, ridicule, and betrayal, but that of the whole world.  No wonder he was a man of sorrows.  No wonder he grieved.

He was, also, the embodiment of all that is good: joy, peace, self-control, faith, hope, and love.  I want to be like him, and I can be.  After all,  I am his daughter, bought by the atonement of his blood, captivated by the power of his charms, and liberated by his eternal sacrifice at Calvary.

If my story is tragic, it may make you weep.  If it moves you to compassion for others who may have suffered abuse, abandonment, and a defilement so deep they thought they couldn't live with its memory, then I am glad I told it.  I am glad you stopped by and I hope you take something away with you.

The goal of life is more--must be more--than to be happy and experience good times.  Happiness is fickle at best, here one day and gone the next--but true joy, the essence of eternal well-being, is attainable; not as a possession to be acquired, but as a consequence of giving to others, becoming a person of integrity, and reaching into the abyss of human suffering to lift another soul out of darkness and into the light of God's eternal love.

Review of Linda's Book: Redeeming Our Treasures, by Christian Booksellers Association (Christian Retailing and Resources)

Redeeming Our Treasures

Linda Settles/Edict House Publishing

Subject: Religion & Spirituality; Neuropsychology

P $19.99 ISBN 978097923835

Sexual abuse began when author Linda Settles was 5 years old, and the abusive relationship with her father continued for 28 years. It’s hard to imagine a more damaged childhood. She’s clearly not writing about somehow finding joy in the abuse, but rather about revisiting the past to redeem the treasures that were missed by a child growing up in fear, pain, shame and degradation. Her story is one of healing and redemption. Now a trained Christian counselor, she leads her readers with eloquence and sensitivity out of a place of brokenness into the freedom and light of restoration. This landmark book is highly recommended for anyone who’s suffered from an abusive relationship and for those who are walking beside them on the path to healing

-          Kris Wilson

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A companion workbook is available (p $12.99, ISBN 9780979023859)