"A New Picture of God"

"Much change has happened through Heather’s heartache, including her view of God. “The rape has changed my view,” Heather said. “I don’t see God as a jolly, old man in the sky any more.” Heather’s childlike picture of God has been replaced by a deeper truth that brings comfort — a God who is her Provider and Sustainer, a God who grieves when she experiences pain.

“God is compassionate yet big enough to handle any problem,” Heather said. “I’ve found I don’t need to minimize my pain. I don’t have to say ‘Oh, everything is fine’ when it’s not. Yes, there are a lot of tough things that happen in life, but God is good.” "

- An excerpt from Beyond the Crisis by Sandra Schutte about Heather Gemmen, a rape survivor, for Focus on the Family

Comments

[Janet Oberholtzer]

Excellent!

Minimizing pain is humans way of dealing with it - but if we process it with God and his truths we are free to fully acknowledge it and be real about it.

After receiving nasty injuries in an accident that will affect me for life - I've learned to live in the tension of celebrating the miracles (medially speaking, I should have died) while being real about the pain and disappointments.

Yes ... life is hard and God is good - don't ever confuse the two!