188. Seek God & Invite Him into the Pain -- Evelyn Sherwood

Have you ever felt the presence of God? Have you ever felt Him close to you? I know for me, I felt the presence of God the most in the middle of my hard seasons: my divorce, the loss of my friend, and my miscarriage. Maybe you can relate. This week on the podcast, I am so excited to have Evelyn Sherwood. She is a friend of mine who sadly has walked through many hardships. One of the things we talk about today is just how much she felt the presence of God in the middle of this hard season. She actually says this amazing quote (I am going to give you a little sneak peek because it is so good). She says, "The sweetness of His presence far surpassed the pain of my suffering." Evelyn has so much wisdom to share with you. But before we head over to the conversation, I have something exciting to share. My book, Depth: Growing Through Heartbreak to Strength is actually celebrating its one-year birthday at the end of August! So for the next 8 weeks, I am doing a special series based on the acrostic in the book. As I was writing the book, I prayed to God for wisdom on how to write a book with three storylines. He gave me this acrostic for the word, STRENGTH! So, we are going to be going through the acrostic starting with the S today with Evelyn to Seek God and Invite Him Into the pain. Then we will move through the acrostic over the next 8 weeks on the podcast. I so excited for you to hear the wisdom from Evelyn of how she was able to seek God and invite Him into the middle of her pain. She went through an intense 18 month season where there was one storm after another, so you do not want to miss the truth she shares! Evelyn wrote a post for my Heartbreak to Strength Story Blog Series back in 2021. The title of her post was Finding Strength in the Middle of the Storm, and I cannot wait for you to read her powerful article. Book Recommendations: *Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vreogop *Breath as Prayer by Jennifer Tucker Evelyn Sherwood is a trusted soul-care guide, speaker, and blogger who has served in pastoral ministry for thirty-five years.  Sherwood serves an active and growing audience through her blog, evelynsherwood.com, and her bi-weekly subscription devotional Hope for the Journey, encouraging her readers to grab hold of hope in the trials by helping them recall God's work in their past. Nothing puts a smile on her face more than sharing about the faithfulness of God with a friend over a steaming cup of cappuccino or iced peach tea. On a summer evening, you might spot Evelyn and her husband, Steve, driving through Indiana farmlands in a canary yellow '47 Ford pickup or enjoying an outdoor movie night in their backyard with their eight grandkids.  You can connect with Evelyn on her website, on Instagram, and you can sign up for her weekly devotional. *Note: If you are interested in purchasing this book or the books recommended