There are places of lack and longing, pain and rejection that reside in my heart and are written in my story that feel like cavernous holes, deep hollow spaces that echo loud, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForsaken,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abandoned, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unloved!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most days, I am certain of my identity in Christ and these voices remain silent, the truth of who I am and whose I am ringing louder. Yet, this winter my family has been sick often and I have also had my share of illness which has made me feel more vulnerable and in need of care. In my vulnerability, feeling more weak and worn down, these lies have begun to overpower the truth and the holes feel deeper and more cavernous as if they might swallow me whole and leave me feeling forever alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trusted mentor encouraged me recently that God desires to fill these holes and bring me healing and wholeness. I do want this yet feelings of doubt fill my mind and I am unable to believe, let alone ask God to heal and fill these empty, hurting places. These wounds have afflicted me for so long that I think I have let myself believe that they would be lifelong afflictions, a thorn in my side, burdens I must carry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God reminds me of the story of the paralyzed man who had been an invalid for thirty eight years yet even so Jesus see\u2019s him and out of all the sick at the pool that day, Jesus comes for him. After all those years of feeling alone and abandoned, rejected and overlooked, Jesus asks him, \u201cDo you want to be well?\u201d I am sure the paralyzed man had his many doubts yet Jesus commands him to pick up his mat and walk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe Jesus is asking me, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDaughter, do you want to be made whole?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Lord Jesus I do! Fill these holes in my heart and story. Make me whole again. You have come for me and you will never stop coming for me. You were forsaken and abandoned on the cross so that I will never be forsaken. You love me so much that you gave your life for me. I am yours, Jesus. These lies have no hold on me. Because of your death and resurrection, I am restored and redeemed. I am held and whole, forever in your arms of love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie\u2014the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, \u201cDo you want to get well?\u201d \u201cSir,\u201d the invalid replied, \u201cI have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.\u201d Then Jesus said to him, \u201cGet up! Pick up your mat and walk.\u201d At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.\u201d John 5:2-3, 5-9a NIV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pictures included below are a flashback to many of my favorite Easter memories. Each of these memories fill my heart to overflowing with so much joy and deep gratitude. The first begins with one of my first and most treasured childhood memories, my maternal grandma and I hunting for Easter eggs. The rest were taken between 2006 to present of our family as they have grown and as they continue to bloom into all that God has created them to become!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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May you know God\u2019s peace and wholeness, His Shalom at an even deeper level this Easter season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has Risen! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has Risen indeed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hallelujah!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, \u201cDo you want to get well?\u201d John 5:6 NIV There are places of lack and longing, pain and rejection that reside in my heart and are written in my story that feel like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/31-edited.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YMk4-z6","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2176"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2211,"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2176\/revisions\/2211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.magnoliaheart.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}