Welcome to the Restored Living Blog
Written By Jaelyn Harrel
“We need more spaces where we can talk about life just how it is. The broken, the messy, the hard. “
I (jaelyn) LOVE kintsugi art. If you havent heard of it this art form is a japanese practice of putting broken pieces of pottery back together with God to make a beautiful Renewed artistic creation.
I believe this is what God wants to do with all of us. Restore what’s been broken.
In 2018 my world SHATTERED when my husband told me he was struggling with Same Sex Attraction and had been having emotional affairs. As a pastors kid and good christian girl I always thought that I didnt really have a hard story that Jesus saved me from. Boy was I blind. Turns out I was all sorts of broken and denying it in so many ways. From Sexual Abuse as a teenager to an emotional eating addiction to numb the pain I was trying to avoid I would find myself as a mom of 2 boys at the time constantly angry, stressed, and lonely trying so hard to uphold an image of holiness I couldnt maintain. It was in that moment I turned to God and to therapy because I didnt know how to fix this on my own. This was the start of my journey of Restored Living that continues on to this day.
I am STILL married thanks to Gods grace in my husbands life and in my own but it has been anything short of EASY. Our story has ended in restoration, but we are painfully aware that many stories do not. We hope that as we share the imperfect parts of our story and if you are running into similar brokenness you will be encouraged by what God has done in our lives and all the tools he has shown us to create healing along the way.
so why a blog?
I (jaelyn) LOVE the written word (and Josh does too!) and have found a passion for writing over the years. Typically you could find my writings in posts on social media, but these days the captions just arent long enough for the downloads I feel the Lord has given me. So in 2022 when I felt the Lord tell me specifically to “write it down” I wrote. I wrote in my notes but never published to the world.
This blog will be the publishing.
Restored Living isnt a straight line. It’s messy and complicated with many ups and downs along the way. It’s imperfect, messy, and beautiful all at the same time. Our hope is in this blog you will find IMPERFECT but RESTORED. You will find the words you’ve only dared to say in your head quietly to yourself alongside words of hope, redemption, and grace.
We need more spaces where we can talk about life just how it is. The broken, the messy, the hard. As well as hear the stories of how God actually rebuilds, restores, and renews us to the purpose He has for our lives.
We pray that this online blog space would be the space for you to hear a different Christian perspective on your brokenness and your redemption. We will share from our own personal stories as well as have guest bloggers to share their stories of Restoration as well. We hope these words bless you as you continue to pursue a life of Restored Living
