Julie Sunne, author of Sometimes I Forget, 60 Reminders of Hope for Your Hard Days, joins me to share her personal experiences of suffering, including miscarriages and caring for her daughter, and how these challenges have deepened her faith. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and processing grief and how it can lead to a more intimate relationship with God. Julie also challenges the notion of 'normal' and our expectations of ourselves and others. This conversation discusses the importance of vulnerability and authenticity in our faith journeys. Julie shares how her experiences of suffering and challenges have deepened her faith and made her more compassionate.

Highlights and takeaways from the conversation:

• Suffering is a universal experience that ties all humans together.
• Comparing our pain to others can hinder our ability to process and heal.
• Acknowledging and processing grief can lead to a deeper faith and a more intimate relationship with God.
• The concept of 'normal' is based on expectations and comparisons and can be unhelpful and limiting.
• Vulnerability and authenticity are essential in our faith journeys. We don't have to have it all together; admitting our faults and struggles is okay.
• Suffering and challenges can deepen our faith and make us more compassionate.
• God's attributes, such as sovereignty, love, and faithfulness, can bring hope and comfort in difficult times.
• We must have a community of trusted individuals with whom we can be vulnerable and share our struggles.
• We must let go of our expectations and trust God's plan, even when we can't see the bigger picture.
• Worship music and prayer can be powerful tools for finding comfort and strength in difficult times.
• "I wrote it because I needed it."
• "We all feel alone in those sufferings. We have to know that we're together, that we aren't alone. Not only are we together with one another, we all experience that, but we're also not alone in that God is with us."
• "This whole thing, it's not about me having it all together. It's about God having it all together for me."
• "Our self-esteem is very fragile as people. And that's why we seek so much esteem in other places instead of where we need to, which is in the Lord."

Follow Julie and learn more about her work here. Don’t forget to pick up her book, Sometimes I Forget.

Email us at info@mercycast.com. You can follow MercyCast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can follow Raleigh Sadler on Twitter and Instagram.

For more conversations like this one, check out my book, Vulnerable: Rethinking Human Trafficking.