When Hearts Heal

By Linda K. Estes

“How can you mend a broken heart …” said the Bee Gees many years ago.

As Linda Estes—and most of us—knows, bruised and broken hearts are part of this life. How we deal with the brokenness is as diverse as we are. Linda reminds us that our LORD is the One who does more than apply temporary ointment or bandage. He tenderly and fully heals with the power of His own loving treatment.

Join Linda in this fourth, and possibly her last, devotion book as she shares healing words from our LORD. What is next?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Energion Publications
• Release date: Nov 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781631997198

Linda K. Estes

Linda Estes is a country girl who prefers her blue jeans and boots over any other attire. A retired school teacher who is a native of Missouri, Linda lives just 15 miles from where she was born and raised. Outside, Linda enjoys riding horses with her grandkids, while inside, she enjoys crocheting, sewing, and scrapbooking. Throughout her adulthood, Linda has experienced the faithfulness of God as He has guided her and her cardiologists through the ups and downs of caring for her very unique heart. As a recent widow, God has now given Linda a new calling. In writing these morning devotions, Linda’s goal is to help others see God in both the carefree days and in the more challenging ones. Linda continues to be blessed with amazing family and friends that walk along side her, sharing in this beautiful journey we call life.

Book preview

When Hearts Heal…

This is my fourth and most likely my last devotional. As I look at my other three books, it is easy for me to see the progress that has been made since the first one was published in 2017. Progress not just as an author but progress in my spiritual and physical life. God has brought me through a season of pain, heartache and sorrow. This journey I’ve been on since my husband, Alan, died unexpectedly on June 5, 2016, has been challenging. It’s taken over three years of tears and heartache, not just from the death of Alan but from everything that ensued afterwards, to get me to this point of peace in my heart. Even physically, with having more heart issues resulting in another heart surgery for me, I stand with full confidence on the promise of Psalm 73:26. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Throughout this journey I have lived in the goodness of God. He has been my Lord and Savior, my Comforter, my forever Friend, my Healer, and my Confidant. He has shown me over and over that He has every aspect of my life covered through His grace and because of that I have a future that I can now see. It’s not the future I thought I would have but it’s the future that God had in His perfect plan for me. With that being true, I can now say, She does not fear bad news; she confidently trusts the Lord to take care of her. - Psalm 112:7

One of the things that I am so thankful for is that I haven’t had to take this journey alone. Besides the Lord always being with me, He has put so many people in my life to help get me to this point of healing. To my family and friends who have walked this journey with me, my heart runneth over. Your love and encouragement have helped in the healing of my broken heart and I will forever be grateful for the things you have done. Does this mean I don’t miss Alan anymore? Absolutely not! He is in my heart for all eternity. There’s not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. And there’s not a day that has gone by that I don’t thank the Lord for taking Alan home when He did so he would not have to endure any more pain and suffering in his earthly life.

The road God has taken me down is really so cool. This devotional is a collection of morning devotions we wrote from August of 2018 to the summer of 2019. And when I say we, this is what I mean. These devotions come through my ongoing conversations with the Lord. He reminds me of our talks and guides me as I write these thoughts down each day so you see, we are writing these devotionals. The Lord has done exceedingly more than I could ever imagine. One of those things He has done is getting me involved in an organization called World Prayr. (Nope, that’s not a typo. There is intentionally not an e in prayer.) Through this organization, my devotionals are being translated into other languages so they can be used as resources for areas in the world where they don’t have access to Christian materials. Who would ever have thought that my morning texts would now be shared worldwide? When I asked one of my friends that exact question, her answer was immediate. Alan would have. And there we are…back full circle. It was Alan who initially encouraged me to have these devotions published and he even had a plan in mind to make it happen but it was God’s ultimate plan that prevailed. You see, it was not a surprise to God when Alan was going to be taken home. His death was only a shock to us. It was God’s plan that put everything in proper order for years in advance so that at the right time in my life these four devotionals were written and published. So to Henry and Jody, thank you for your part in God’s plan by taking a chance on me and publishing these words from God. And thank you to the World Prayr family for giving me the opportunity to be a part of them and work with them. And to my friend who put me on a ladder and then patiently waited to get just the right lighting for the cover picture of this book, thank you for turning my vision into the perfect photo.

Then exactly what does happen when hearts heal? Quite simply, God’s plans are realized. In my life that meant that the gut-wrenching pain and sorrow of Alan’s death was replaced with His love…directly from Him and through others who love me. When we walk through life with the Light of God’s love shining into our pain, grief, and brokenness, that’s when our hearts heal. So today I would like to encourage you that if you are in a difficult season in your life, where pain and sorrow have camped out in your heart, give it time and give it to the Lord. I was recently asked by someone who just lost a loved one if the pain ever lessens. Now, some three plus years after Alan’s death, I can offer a more uplifting answer. The grief changes. It gets doable. On this earth, I’ll never get over Alan’s death but thanks be to God, He has helped me get through it to the point where I’m now looking forward to seeing what He has in store for my time remaining here on this earth. Once again Lord, I thank you for giving me Alan to share the best years of my adult life. And, when you see Alan today, please send him my love and tell him I miss him but I’m good, because when hearts heal...

1…INNER BEAUTY

Good morning! We’ve all heard that it’s the first impression that counts when meeting someone new. Since we’ve heard that so much growing up, we typically will just accept that as being right. The problem with this is that our first impressions are only looking at things on the outside. Things like their physical appearance and smile, or lack of it. I was thinking about this when I read 1 Samuel 16:7. But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ God is a reader of the heart and for that I am very thankful. It’s what’s on the inside that God cares about.

Have you ever been wrongly judged because people made decisions about you without taking the time to know what’s in your heart? It’s hurtful, isn’t it? Even people who have known you for many years still might not know what’s in your heart because they haven’t given you the time it takes to discover that. It’s sad, but even without that information, they still make judgements about you.

We should look for inner beauty because that’s what God does. In Matthew 7:20, Jesus tells us what we are to look for. So then, you will know them by their fruits. The fruits that Jesus is talking about are found in Galatians 5:22-23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. These are the things that God values and these same fruits will tell you about a person’s inner beauty. That beauty found in their heart matters to God, and it should matter to us, too. So here’s to looking at others through our Father’s loving eyes.

Heavenly Father, please help us to see others as You see them and may our fruits shine forth for others to see. Amen.

2…ALL GOD

Good morning! God wants and deserves to receive all the glory for what He has done. The story in Judges chapter 7 shows us how He arranged a situation so that no man could take the credit and all would have to give God the glory. In this story God had Gideon reduce the number of men to fight Midian down to 300 from the original number of 32,000. The Lord did this so no one could boast of their strength and power and all would have to say that God and only God was responsible for the victory. This is just another example of God using ordinary people to carry out His extraordinary plan.

This story got me thinking about the story of my life and the things that God alone should receive the glory for. The first thing that popped in my mind was the fact that I’m still alive. My first heart doctors didn’t see this one coming but the Lord has allowed me to remain here in spite of my failing heart. And not only that I’m still here but that I’m active and still able to serve Him. The next thing that popped in my mind were these morning devotions. I have been writing them since 2013. So let’s do the math: 5 devotions per week x 52 weeks in a year x 6 years = ALL GOD. There is no way I could have come up with these devotions without Him. Sure, I could probably have written a few dozen over the years but coming up with over 1,500 devotions can only be because of God and therefore I give Him all the glory.

So now it’s your turn. What are your God-only glory stories? It’s something good to think about and reflect on but it’s even a better thing to share them. God gets wrongly blamed for so much in life so we should honor Him every chance we get by sharing our stories and giving Him all the glory that is rightly due Him.

God, please help us remember to give You the glory that You so richly deserve. We are nothing without You. Let our stories strengthen other believers and draw unbelievers to You. Amen.

3…HE DIED FOR YOU

Good morning! Whose eyes do you see yourself through? Do you see yourself through your own eyes, as though you were looking in a mirror, or maybe it’s through the people you’re trying to please? From my experience, both of these perspectives will leave you lacking. When we look through our own eyes, aren’t we pretty critical? Isn’t there always something that we see that’s not right? And if we’re looking through other’s eyes as we try to please them...well, we can forget that, too. That saying we’ve all heard is so true. You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Trying to please others is often a no-win situation. In this life, we need to concern ourselves with pleasing the Lord, plain and simple. If we keep our focus on the Lord, then we won’t have to concern ourselves with pleasing anyone else.

Feeling as though you belong is one of those basic needs we all have, but it’s often just that, a feeling. But when you belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, you are in the perfect place. You don’t have to rely on your feelings. You can be assured of this fact every single day. I recently received a t-shirt that said, I might not be perfect but Jesus thinks I’m to die for. And scripture backs that up. John 3:16 states that fact this way. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. If you were the only sinner to have ever been born, Jesus would still have died for you. So isn’t it time for us to see ourselves the way the Lord sees us and not worry about other’s opinions. Jesus sees us worth dying for.

Lord, it is so easy to get wrapped up in what others think about us and when that happens we spend way too much time trying to keep that image alive. Help us see that the only one we need to please is You. Once we do that, no one else’s opinion will drive us. Amen.

4…THE NEXT EXIT

Good morning! Do you ever feel like a dog chasing its tail, just trying to figure out life? I thought about this as I watched a car go round and round in the roundabout in town. There were four different places that driver could have chosen to exit the roundabout but he was having trouble deciding which exit to take. Life often mimics one of these roundabouts. There are so many options to take on our journey in life. So, how do we know for sure which exit to take? Thankfully, God shared His wisdom with us in the pages from Genesis to Revelation. We can learn what pleases God in His Word, which gives us a good foundation to stand on. He shows us what is right and what is wrong and the reward or consequence that goes along with each. God speaks to us about what it takes to be His child and the life He expects us to live, one of sharing Him and shining His Light brightly to those around us.

It takes more than just reading what God’s Word has to say in the Bible. Where the rubber meets the road is how we live out His Word. Influence of others can impact our walk with the Lord, so it’s important for us to surround ourselves with those who know the Lord and live a life pleasing to Him. Proverbs 13:20 says it this way. He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. We want to spend time with people who won’t try and steer us to take the wrong exit. Those are the people who were referred to as the companion of fools. But on the flip side of that coin is where we’ll find the wise men that we are encouraged to associate with. Those are the people who lift you up in the Lord. If you should stumble, they are there to pick you up, brush you off, help you get back on track and continue to love you, just like the Lord does.

Lord, thank you for giving us all we need to navigate the roundabouts in life. Thank you for Your Word that leads us down the right road and the guidance of the wise men and women that You have put in our life. Amen.

5…FIRM FOUNDATION

Good morning! There is lots of commotion on my street this week as work has begun preparing the ground for grass and landscaping for two new houses that were just built. Truckloads of dirt have been brought in and bobcats and backhoes are moving and packing that dirt down to make solid yards for those houses. It’ll be fun to see what these yards will look like when it’s all said and done.

As I was thinking about how those guys are giving the yards a solid foundation, I thanked God for the solid foundation He provides for us as believers. Once we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, our firm foundation has begun. On that foundation, the Holy Spirit begins showing us God’s truth and His promises but it all begins with Jesus and what He did for us. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins so that God the Father could look on us as believers and see us as righteous. On our solid foundation, trust is developed as we see God fulfill His promises in our lives and in those around us. This foundation of trust helps carry us in our faith walk with God. And as we learn to trust God more each day, we can share that trust with others. There are literally hundreds of verses in the Bible talking about trusting God. My favorite verses are Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. When we place our trust in God, whether we understand the what and why of the things He’s doing in our lives, we believe that He is in the process of giving us His best for our good, just like Romans 8:28 promises. "And we know that God causes