Life is busy and stressful and sometimes overwhelming, but it is also filled with beauty and joy, and love. We all know this, and most of us can navigate difficult times by holding onto beauty and hope. But sometimes the hardships start outnumbering the good times, and it’s hard to keep a positive attitude and perspective.
The difficulties may be major (a divorce, the loss of a job or loved one, a move), but they don’t have to be. Sometimes it’s the little things that we “should” be able to handle that keep piling on until we’re no longer able to cope. This may manifest in physical maladies (daily headaches or stomach aches, insomnia, panic attacks). Or the overwhelming might be more subtle, more hidden--feelings of loneliness, failure, hopelessness, even despair. Our tendency may be to push these feelings aside and try to muscle through. But if left unchecked this can lead to depression and even thoughts of suicide.
Such was the case with Aimee Fuhrman, author of Smudged Pages: Letting Go of the Lies and Letting God Write Your Story. “From the outside my life was idyllic,” Aimee says. “Nothing in my life spelled suicide, but that is exactly where I found myself several years ago. I had bought into the lies of the Enemy, and they were impacting my identity. I had this standard of perfection I was trying to live up to, but I couldn’t do it, so I was caught in a cycle of false failure and guilt.”
Aimee has since found healing, and her heart is to help other women shed the lies they are believing and find their true identity in Christ Jesus. She does this through her book and her ministry Smudged Pages, which also includes a workbook (The Smudged Pages Companion: A Guide to Letting Go of the Lies), an online course that can be taken with or without coaching, as well as speaking engagements and women’s retreats.
