Divinely Broken: Finding Joy in Your Heartache

By Rhea Breann Cooper

This is the story of a tough-minded individual, intent on changing the minds and hearts of many from repressing to reconciling. It speaks to people who shoulder burdens of others in silence, dealing with the process of all pains in life, but especially on the topics of death and divorce. A beautiful testimony of a battle won in mind and spirit, combined with information on how to grieve, as well as insight on how God views brokenness that will give understanding and hope to any of us at any stage of this process.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490856803

Rhea Breann Cooper

Rhea Breann Cooper lives in Lafayette, Louisiana. She is currently pursuing a career in child psychology. She has always had a passion for writing and athletics. She loves spending time with her family and friends and volunteering at church. She desires to use her testimony to help others who may be facing heartache in their own lives.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 Rhea Cooper.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5681-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5682-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5680-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014918517

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/08/2014

Contents

Acknowledgments

1.   My Broken Road

2.   Triggers and Signs

3.   The Effects

4.   We All Heal Differently

5.   The Lies

6.   The Process

7.   From Denial to Peace

8.   From Bitterness to Compassion

9.   From Bargaining to Thanksgiving

10. From Depression to Joy

11. Acceptance and Purpose

12. Stolen Gifts

13. The Touch

14. Never Repeating

15. A Beautifully Broken Vessel

To the heartbroken: may you find comfort and healing through these pages, for God is the restorer of the broken.

Acknowledgments

I give all of the glory, praise, and honor to my Lord and Savior, who has turned my brokenness into purpose. He has always been the Author; I am just humbled to be the hands that He has chosen to use.

To my parents, thank you for always believing in me and being an example of how to live a life with God at its center. Mom, thank you for being my rock and showing me the importance of trusting in God. Dad, thank you for being my laughter and teaching me to give to others wholeheartedly. Thank you both for allowing me to be transparent in the hopes of helping those who are hurting.

To my Aunt Karen and Uncle Dwight, who supported me in every possible way, thank you for sharing in the joy of this experience. You both have given me the motivation and love to keep moving forward.

To my Pastor Rick Langford, who started me on this journey and pushed me out of my comfort zone, thank you for leading and believing in me.

To my mentor, David Daigle, thank you for giving me wise counsel all of these years and teaching me how to love others.

To my best friend, Mariah, thank you for being a listening ear amid life’s chaos and supporting me every step of the way. I am grateful for our friendship, which I know will last for a lifetime.

To my team of ten, thank you for bringing joy and laughter into my life. Serving you has been one of my greatest honors.

To Anna Wilkins, my kindred spirit, thank you for creating a beautiful summary that I was able use for the book. Thank you for understanding and being a part of this vision.

To my publisher, WestBowPress, thank you for bringing life to my story. You have given me a foundation to share my testimony with others.

To my editor, Pam Eddings, thank you for helping to shape this book with kind advice and guidance.

To every one of my friends and family, who have showered me with encouragement and love, without you, this wouldn’t have been possible. Your kindness and thoughtfulness mean more to me than words can express. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This truly has been a dream come true.

Chapter 1

My Broken Road

I was born and raised in a home where God was number one. Every Sunday, my family and I were among the first to arrive at church and one of the last families to leave. My life consisted of fundraisers, church socials, outreaches, and Sunday school. It was all I had ever known. As I got older, God became more personal to me. I was able to understand the necessity of building a relationship with Him based not on obligation but on love. At a young age, I realized I had heard the call of God in my life. I felt such a strong burden in my heart for other people, and from then on, I knew that God had a unique plan for me. As the years went by, it was easy to live for God. I had what some would call the perfect life. I was blessed with a family that loved me unconditionally, and God’s favor was evident in my daily life. I made good grades, played sports, and participated in church activities. But somewhere along the way, I became disillusioned. I thought I had to always keep it together. I had to be strong, never showing weakness, always displaying the right emotion. This was not taught to me, but it came with being raised in the church. Granted, I am and always will be thankful for the privilege of growing up around the things of God. However, I also felt that because of this gift, I was exempt from feeling hurting, like others did. I should have a higher tolerance for pain. I should be able to bear the weight of any burden.

In my junior year of high school, my life was turned upside down. My grandmother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. We had a special relationship. I had always been told that I took after her. She lived right across the street from me, and I was at her house almost every day. As a child, I would sneak away to Maw Maw’s house in the middle of the night, telling her that Mom and Dad had said it was okay. When my parents came to check on me, they would find me gone and practically have a heart attack.

My grandmother was a woman whose life defined what it meant to have faith. She was the lady who would be at the altar, crying and praying over those who were hurting. She always taught me that a life serving God was the only kind of life to live. We could often be found together in her living room, KAJN playing on the radio in the background and food cooking while we talked about life. Our laughs would echo throughout the house as we teased each other and then teamed up against the rest of our family. She taught me to face my fears, to be a woman of strength, yet touch others with gentle hands.

When I was in eighth grade, she drove me to my first tryouts for volleyball. Before I got out of the car, I made her drive circles around the building. I feared that I wouldn’t be accepted. I was the shy kid who preferred blending in rather than standing out. I loved the sport, but the thought of walking into a place I didn’t know terrified me. I tried to smile at her as my hands shook and my stomach tightened in knots. She knew me well enough to know I needed a pep talk. She hurried to a drive-through, ordered ice cream, and parked the car. She looked me in the eyes and said, Rhea, there will always be things that scare you in life. There will always be people who won’t understand you. The possibility of that can’t hold you back. You have to make the choice to either hide or to face those fears head on. Only you can decide. Even though nervous tears surfaced, I quietly asked her to drive me back to the gym. I knew what I had to do. As my heart pounded, I walked through those scary and unknown doors. I turned around and saw her right behind me; she had promised to take those steps with me. She had always been the strength that I needed and the confidence that I lacked. After that day, I knew she would always be my hero.

She had been diagnosed years before with the same kind of tumor that she had now, but she had battled her way through it. It seemed unfair; she had lost her husband at a young age and now she had another tumor at sixty-seven. Being a family who trusted in God’s healing hands, we did the only thing we knew how to do: we prayed. Churches from far and wide sent out their love and concern, but her symptoms only became worse. The doctors gave us no hope and encouraged us to say good-bye. Only one doctor in Houston, Texas, took up the challenge of operating on her. That day, as family and friends waited together, we received the news that she had made it through the surgery. She had some hard times ahead of her in rehabilitation, but the doctors were amazed at how successful the surgery had been. They couldn’t explain it and even admitted that it was a miracle she was alive. Talk about a faith builder. No words can adequately describe our emotions that day. We knew without a shadow of a doubt that God literally had done the impossible. He had seen our tears flow and He had responded with a touch of restoration. But weeks after receiving her healing, she still couldn’t walk. Months went by, and her mobility and ability to care for herself decreased. She quickly lost her spirit that had once been so vibrant and full of life. Less than a year later, she passed away, leaving