Voice of the Broken

By Melissa Hurd

Melissa Hurd tells how she grew up in Potter and Adams counties, Pennsylvania, moved through the foster care system, and suffered abuse only to grow up and become an abuser herself. Then God intervened. "The Voice of the Broken" is deep, reflective, and rich with a gritty humility that speaks to the power of God to change lives, redirect hearts, and bring good out of even the worst of experiences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CruxPublications
• Release date: Jun 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735073521

Melissa Hurd

Melissa Hurd is a single 47-year-old woman. She grew up in Pennsylvania. For most of her life she felt broken, unsettled by people she admired and respected. Noticing the poor treatment of animals, she started to rescue them. Tired of running, she decided to deal with the issues that had plagued her throughout her life. Today, she is heading closer to God and feels blessed about how her life has been turned completely around by His grace. She has a 28-year-old son, married with three children, whom she loves with all her heart. Her church family is Freedom Valley Church in Gettysburg, Pa. and Life Discovery Church in McSherrystown, Pa. She cannot thank them enough for guiding her closer to God and being the family she always needed.

Book preview

The Voice of the Broken

Melissa Hurd

Copyright © 2020 Melissa Hurd

All rights reserved.

ISBN:978-1-7350735-2-1

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

And the God of all Grace, who called you to his glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

-- 1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the ones who feel like their whole world is in the dark and may believe that they will never see the light. I didn't write this book for anyone to hear my side of the story. I don't need to prove anything to anyone. It’s not just my life I want to shine but also that of those who are suffering in the darkness.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to start by thanking God for helping me through all my troubles, which I couldn’t face on my own. He gave me strength when I was weak in dealing with the horrible situations of my childhood. There were times when I didn’t want to continue with life because I couldn’t see a purpose. Thank you, God, for making me stronger when I felt weak.

My son also kept me strong. He gave me a purpose and someone to think about other than myself. My son is now able to see all the love he deserves, which I often could not see in mine. He has also encouraged me while writing my life story and made sure I didn’t give up. Thank you so much, my son. I love you dearly.

Julie Stolzfoos is a close friend and the wife of the pastor at Freedom Valley Church. We met years ago and became fast friends. She was the first person to hear my story. She is my best friend today because she took everything in and never walked away. Julie knows I am not perfect, but she also knows everyone can change. I love you, Julie. I’m thankful for our friendship, the walks on the battlefield, and Starbucks’ coffee.

Allen and Theresa Taylor are the ones who had faith in my story and decided to publish it. I cannot thank them enough for their hard work. Because of them, I can help others through their bad paths and show them the Light at the end of the tunnel where forgiveness, hope, and faith can be found by God’s promise.

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE

When Melissa Hurd contacted me in February 2020 to ask me if I'd edit her book, it prompted me to action on two things that had been penetrating my spirit for a couple of years. The first was the completion of a testimony I had been trying to write. The second was the seed of Crux Publications.

Concerning the testimony, I had written the first draft, but wasn't satisfied. I immediately went to work to revise it, and I'm glad I did.

The larger project was Crux Publications. I wanted to start a publishing company that catered to Christian writers, opening the door to inspiration. Having spent most of my life studying books, making a living as a writer, and working as an editor, it was a natural progression. But I had no idea where to begin. Melissa gave me that place.

The Voice of the Broken became our first title. I Am Not the King was the second. We were planning a dual launch party when Pennsylvania shut down and social distancing became the norm. Uncertainty set in.

God is sovereign over uncertainty. In Jesus Christ, he has defeated all of His enemies, including death. Including uncertainty. Because of Him, we can be certain that God will prevail over Satan and that all things work together for the good of us who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). There's no uncertainty in that promise.

Traditional publishing is difficult to break into. If a writer succeeds, she loses a lot of control over her own work. Self-publishing requires some special knowledge and comes with a steep learning curve. I had obtained that knowledge with previous publication efforts, so I knew I could help Christian authors like Melissa see the fruits of their labor welcome the light of day. That's why I chose a hybrid publishing model for Crux Publications. It gives authors more control over their work without having to undergo the pains of the learning curve.

Many hybrid publishers have sprung up in recent years with a variety of author royalty structures and a wide breadth of services. Few of them focus solely on Christian authors. Crux Publications does.

As a publisher, we do not adhere to any strict set of doctrines or creeds. We believe in the historic Jesus and ask authors to sign a statement of faith that indicates they believe in the same Jesus. We leave the rest up to conscience. Crux Publications believes Melissa Hurd has encountered the living Jesus. Therefore, we are proud to count her as one of our authors. Readers who wish to challenge her on her understanding of theology are encouraged to begin a discussion with her. Contact information is provided at the end of this book.

On a personal note, we've worked hard to ensure The Voice of the Broken is free of misrepresentations. Nevertheless, the story is entirely Melissa's. She lived it, and she had the final say in every detail.

Crux Publications invites interaction with readers on our Facebook page and in the comments of The Crux newsletter. Both are listed at the back of this book. If you feel blessed by Melissa's story, you can reach out to her directly. I'm sure she'd like to hear from you.

Now, without further ado, Crux Publication presents The Voice of the Broken.

Allen Taylor

Publisher

Crux Publications

PROLOGUE

My story begins at the beginning and ends at the end of my old self. I want to state right up front that I’m not pointing fingers or judging anyone. Many of the people I’ve met along the way are family. They are a part of my story. They’ve joined me in my travels on this earth, for good or bad. Therefore, their presence in my story is warranted.

I believe things may have ended well, but they didn’t always go so well. For much of my life, I ran from God, like Jonah. Sailors threw him overboard their ship and God had a huge fish swallow him for three days and three nights. If I was the one swallowed by that huge fish—and it surely felt like I was, but for a lot longer than three days and nights—I would pray for God to forgive me for choosing to live my life without him. I need him now more than ever.

I’ve lived my life my way, but I was often aware I wasn’t on the right path. It felt so dark and confusing. I’ve felt out of place and lost, like a child without its mother. It felt like I didn’t belong to my parents or sisters and I couldn't understand why. Why was I in their life if they hated me so much?

If I'd have stood with God, I would not have been confused or lived in darkness. Our own choices put us through that darkness. But with God, all you see is light. He is able to guide us in the right direction, according to His plan. My own choices, and no one else's, separated me from my Father.

I know God protected me in the midst of the experiences I faced and continue to face, and He is making me stronger in Christ. While many of the deeds recorded here have hurt me, I realize I was doing things to others and hurting them too. Still, I wanted it all to go away. But I realized I had to change my attitude and turn anger into kindness, because I didn’t want to become the monster I saw in others. I wanted to show kindness, even to the ones who didn’t deserve it. If I had gone out of my way to deliver kindness, I could one day expect that kindness to return to me.

It is because of these truths that I can now pray:

As of today, I am all yours, Lord! Please guide me in the life you see for me, because I cannot do it without you. As I let go of all the wrongs others have done to me, and the bad behavior I exhibited toward others because of