Heart Healing with Jesus with Shea Odom | Created In The Image of God 231

From the outside, Shea Odom’s story could be summarized as “a heart patient who survived.” Born with a congenital heart defect, undiagnosed until heart failure at six weeks old, she underwent her first open‑heart surgery as an infant in Atlanta. Childhood took her from a German compound in Saudi Arabia—playing with neighbors from Pakistan, Austria, and beyond—back to North Florida, where cardiology checkups, growth‑hormone studies, and the watchful eye of specialists became a normal part of life. As she grew, doctors repaired and then eventually replaced both her aortic and mitral valves, while atrial fibrillation and repeat procedures kept pulling her back into the medical world just as she was trying to step into adulthood.But the deeper story was happening in her inner life. By her teens and twenties, Shea wasn’t just tired physically; she was discouraged and quietly afraid, wondering what would happen when medicine ran out of options. It was in that space that God began to draw her closer. Through a friend’s invitation to a Bible study, the stories and humanity of Jesus moved from abstract to personal—no longer just “God out there,” but Someone who suffered, surrendered, and trusted the Father in His own Gethsemane. As Shea entered counseling and “heart healing” work of her own, she reached a point of true surrender: admitting she could not fix her heart, could not save herself, and entrusting her story to Jesus in a way that went beyond words.In this episode, she shares how that surrender changed everything—not by erasing trouble, but by rooting her identity in the love and security of a good Father. She talks about how her physical heart surgeries paralleled a spiritual heart restoration, how she came to see Jesus as the forerunner of mental and emotional health, and how that journey led her into writing, speaking, and leading gentle “heart healing” sessions for children and their parents. Using story, prayer, and practical tools, she now helps young hearts name their fear, pain, and confusion and bring it into the light of God’s love.For anyone walking a child through illness, anxiety, or grief—or carrying their own unspoken scars from earlier years—this conversation offers both comfort and direction. Shea’s life is a living reminder that Jesus does not only heal bodies; He heals hearts, teaching us to live from a place of peace and belonging even when our stories are complicated. Get full access to SOOPMedia on Substack at soopllc.substack.com/subscribe Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe