By Victoria Ostrosky
When David was in hiding from King Saul, who was hunting him down, he became depressed and cried out to God for help. When he sinned against God with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed, he confessed his sin and begged for forgiveness and restoration. God speaks of David as a “man after God’s own heart,” and it was proven in his daily life as he lived his life knowing God was there. The Book of Psalms is an eternal testament to David’s relationship with the God he knew, depended upon, and loved.
In the scriptures, they say that Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was fully God, but also fully man and dealing with everyday life and people’s needs was draining. He was, at times, disappointed, angry, sad, compassionate and full of grace and love. Jesus’s time in prayer and His absolute submission to the Father’s will was the key to His peace and joy. We will experience the same as we follow in His footsteps.
Sheila Guagliardo was raised in a single-parent home. Her dad was a severe alcoholic and died at just 39 years of age. At that time, her mom wasn’t a Christian but worked hard and did her best to provide for her four children. When Sheila was young, she was sexually abused by a family member and, with the help of a friend, was able to get out of the situation, but she was left with internal scars from the trauma.
At the age of 16, she was in a horrible car accident, sustaining serious injuries, especially to her face. She endured eight surgeries. At the time, she didn’t know the Lord. At least, not yet. But she found out later that He knew her quite well.
After Sheila was married, her mom became a Christian and sent her a Bible. Sheila wasn’t interested at the time in Christianity, but she noticed her mom’s depression had lifted and the profound change in her caused Sheila to begin looking into who God was.
While she and her husband were staying at a hotel in New Mexico, the Lord began opening her heart to the Gospel when she found a Gideon Bible in the nightstand. She ended up giving her heart to Jesus.
As she began to grow in her faith, she had questions on why God allowed her abuse and accident to happen. “It was hard to understand why God allows things to happen. God was there no matter how dark things were. I don’t need to understand the why. His presence brought peace and healing.”
Over the years, she learned about what she refers to as ‘shelving trauma’. What exactly are we to do with the bad things that have happened to us? “He uses His Spirit to reveal things. Don’t run away from it but find a trusted person.” Sheila knows the importance of having someone you can trust and confide in. “The Lord brings the painful things up and will bring healing.”
She remembers when she and her husband were stationed in Okinawa, she was quite self-conscious about the scars on her face. Through a series of events, she ended up on a stage and was blown away by how the Lord ended up using that to speak to her. The words from the song Something Beautiful penetrated her soul and God used the lyrics to reveal to her just how beautiful He was making her. “I’m just so thankful to be saved. Sometimes, we want to fight when He’s trying to help us. We have to trust Him.”
Sheila’s advice to others struggling is this – stay in the Word. “The Lord wants you to be whole. He wants to bring you up from the darkness so He can turn it to joy.”
You can listen to Sheila Guagliardo’s entire interview and many other incredible stories on the weekly Road to Redemption radio show and podcast at www.rtrdestiny.com.
Author: Sowal Editor
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