What do you do when pain and brokenness force their way into life? What about when life deals you a blow that you're not sure you can recover from? Should you try to avoid the pain, move through it as quickly as possible, or numb it until it passes? Could there be any value in suffering? How you handle pain and how you allow others to experience their pain reveals what you believe to be true about yourself, others, and God. What do you do when life inscribes words on your heart that you wish weren't there? Words like shame, fear, hopelessness and bitterness. My adoptive mother would tell me, "I got you out of the gutter, and I can put you back there." She was right. I did start out and travel through some very dark places in my life, but I did not remain there. I have God to thank for that! Not the God that fancy religious people told me about, but the God that I got to know for myself. This is the story of a life redeemed in so many beautiful ways!