Author, singer and Women of Faith speaker Sheila Walsh explores the themes of suffering, worship, family brokenness and redemption in her new novel, Song of the Brokenhearted.
Shelia explains that the novel began from two passages of Scripture: the book of Job and Romans 8:28. Both tell of God working for good with brokenhearted people even in the midst of the worst circumstances. Shelia wanted to tell a story portraying those themes that could take place in her own neighborhood.
The book tells a story of one woman, Ava, who looks like she has it all together. Her family attends church, they have a nice house and all their ducks are in a row. But there are demons from her childhood underneath the perfect exterior. Haunting Ava are memories she just wants to forget. Through circumstances God leads her back through her dark childhood. Difficult though the journey is, she finds powerful, redemptive grace.
Shelia finds that this fictional narrative of revisiting places of brokenness is something that often happens in real life. God allows it to happen, for a reason.
“One of the reasons God allows us to revisit a place is to help us realize that we are different now.”
The novel highlights the importance of the freeing power of forgiveness. Quite often it takes a time of crisis for underlying issues that need forgiveness to come to the surface.
“There’s usually something that knocks normal off the table so we have to take a look.”
Sometimes we feel like we can’t survive the storms. We think the challenges will overwhelm us. This is a lie from the enemy. Christ said the opposite. If we know the truth and face the truth, the truth will set us free.
“The son of man came to seek and save those who are ‘beyond repair.’ That’s the reality.”
Key Scriptures: Philippians 3:13, Psalm 34:18
