I grew up in a dysfunctional home with an alcoholic father. During my childhood, I was molested at three different times by trusted people who were close to our family. Every time I was told I was “just a dirty little girl.” Those words became engrained in my mind. Maybe it was my fault. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so stupid. Maybe I should have known better. I just didn’t understand.
I married at 21, but he liked other women too much and I didn’t want to share him, so eleven years later we divorced. My life spiraled downhill from there. I was tired of feeling like men were just using me, so I started to use them. I was so full of resentment and bitterness. I didn’t understand why I did or said hurtful things. The guilt and shame were too much to bear, and I became suicidal.
The Healed and Set Free Bible study gave me a new beginning to live for today and look forward to the future. It taught me what true forgiveness is. Jesus mended my broken heart—a heart I thought was shattered and would never be healed. He set me free from my past. He showed me why I lashed out toward others: I was so weak and brokenhearted that my thinking and judgment were impaired. I didn’t realize I was hurting people; I didn’t know I was sinning. Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness, which is total, complete and absolute!
I was so excited about how Jesus had set me free and how He had changed my life forever; I wanted other women to know the freedom that they can have through the healing power of Jesus. I have facilitated several Healed and Set Free Bible studies, and I’m now facilitating the study in jails and in a women’s prison. These ladies have all been broken and are in some kind of bondage. My heart is to let them know that they can truly be set free from the bondage their past. That God loves them no matter what they have done or how they feel. That He can give them a hope and a future. That Jesus is our only true Healer, and only He can fill that void. That they can have a peace and joy that only God can give.
God has truly blessed me in this ministry. There have been many tears and much healing. God gets all the glory! My hope for these ladies is that they will let Jesus heal their broken lives and make them whole again. “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives” (Luke 4:18). “Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
You can’t change the past, but you can make a better tomorrow by living for today!
– Sindy