Let me preface this by saying 2025 marks the ten-year anniversary of Broken Pianos and Mending Hearts, which the Holy Spirit and I wrote together and published in 2015; although it actually took me over a year to fully complete in the way He wanted.
The truth is, nothing has changed regarding how God feels about those who have been abused and traumatized—His heart grieves deeply for them. Sadly, there is still a lot of apathy and outright neglect for victims in the body of Christ today, and that grieves His heart just as much, if not more.
After the Lord recently told me He wanted me to revisit this piece, I contemplated how I would go about doing that.
Broken Pianos and Mending Hearts has always felt like holy ground to me, and I believe this is because a piece of His heart is connected to it in a way that nothing else I’ve ever written is.
So even the idea of touching these words felt too monumental. He was clear, though — let Me help you revisit and reshare this; it’s time.
So, with that, I’m reposting this with a fresh, convicting, and heartfelt push from Jesus. This is serious business to Him, and it should be to us as well.
—Michelle
Hiding Our Stories
Buried Secrets. Messy truths. Sexual Abuse. Abandoned pasts. Rape. Shattered dreams. Domestic violence. Broken hearts. Scarred Souls. Crushed spirits.
Perhaps some of these words apply to someone in our family, a friend, a neighbor, or someone we work with, sit next to in church, or chat with on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Or maybe they apply to us.
Perhaps some of us have been hiding from it our whole lives — hiding the truth of our stories; hiding the scars of our souls.
We were never meant to live in fear and isolation. We were never meant to carry such heavy burdens alone. We were never meant to dismiss or trivialize parts of ourselves. We were never supposed to live with lifeless, hopeless, and fragile hearts.
But it happens all the time.
Some have tried to share their secrets. Some have tried confiding. Some have opened up those deep, dark places only to be shut down, dismissed, or not heard. Some were made to feel they were at fault or not believed at all.
Ignorance, denial, and silence don't change the truth or help heal broken lives.
Many endure a private hell that no one else sees or knows about. Some manage; others barely get by.
Some try to go on living as if everything's alright, like nothing ever happened, but it did.
Some try to ignore the deep, visceral pain that frequently stirs up as an ever-present reminder of what took place.
Some speak around the bruises like a pink elephant in the room.
Some don't consciously remember but live in a physical body that does.
Some have worked hard to overcome their pain but still have loose ends; they aren’t quite sure what to do with what remains.
How do you say it? Alive but not really living.
It's like trying to create beautiful music from an old, broken piano—it's dusty, dull, and dilapidated.
Many of the keys are missing, and many are stuck. It's out of tune, off pitch, and in disarray. Harsh conditions and neglect have taken their toll. Its once-vibrant sound is now totally flat.
Yes, it's still a piano, but it isn’t completely functional.
It's not a piano that can freely vibrate with its unique, inherent tone. It's not a piano that can express its full depth and range or deliver what it was really designed to do.
It must be mended to play properly again; it must be restored to truly resonate as it was originally intended.
However, the piano cannot do this on its own. It's too broken, too worn down, and too out of tune. It must be helped. And not just any help but help from someone who is specially trained in piano restoration. Someone who knows the whole delicate process and understands what is required. Someone who loves broken pianos and likes helping them return to their proper functioning and sound.
It's Like That with Us
God knows our stories.
He knows our truths.
He knows our struggles.
He knows our secrets, too, regardless of how painful, ugly, or messy they are, whether they are hidden or flying under the radar.
He also understands the cost of living with them unhealed — we aren't fully functioning. We're out of tune, off-key, flat. Every part of us.
The untold pain and trauma often settle in the recesses of the heart, the layers of the soul, and the physical systems and tissues of the body. These areas may feel fine, numb, or unsusceptible, but they are very much affected. Not just anyone can touch them, nor should they.
The Father is an expert at tending to such places. Indeed, He is familiar with all the intricacies of healing. He understands how delicate the work is and knows the terrain along with the pain involved. He also knows it is essential and worthwhile to pursue.
He knows best how to mend broken hearts and heal wounded souls and bodies, and He knows the best healing path for each person.
Jesus is a true healer — He heals directly. However, He often works through those who understand how to address trauma with the practical yet tender, loving care that He desires.
He's got people who are trained in heart restoration. People who know the whole delicate process and understand what is required. People who love those wounded and broken hearts and bodies in need of mending. People who like helping restore them to their proper functioning and sound. People that He works with to help heal all the pieces.
Do you realize that each of us has our own unique signature or sound that no one else can mimic? It's a distinctive, God-given characteristic, and no one has the right to take it from you. If your sound is diminished or completely silenced, it can never be replaced. There will never be another you. Never.
That silence cannot be equally replaced by another because there is no sound like yours. Whoever or whatever might be used to fill the void will never sound exactly as it was meant to because it isn't your sound. And the world will have lost a great gift—the gift of your uniquely beautiful sound.
Dear Broken Hearts, Scarred Souls, and Crushed Spirits:
You matter.
Please know you have the right to be seen and heard. Please know you have the right to live in joy, peace, and wholeness. Please know that's exactly what God wants for you, as well.
He doesn't want to judge or condemn you. He wants to care for you and love you the way you were always meant to be loved and cared for.
He wants to help you heal.
Your deep pain affects Him deeply. You might feel like no one has ever genuinely listened to you or truly seen you, and perhaps they really didn’t want to, but God has and does. He knows the truth of what happened, and He understands the immense suffering and injustice you’ve endured. He knows the entire story.
And guess what?
He adores you. He looks at you with deep compassion and genuine, abiding love. You are truly a treasure to Him. He deeply values and cherishes you. You mean more to Him than you realize.
You are His beloved—so come and bring your shattered dreams, come and breathe in His love and know.
Know that you were made for more; know you are worth it and know He will help you find someone who has His heart and is trained in His restoration process.
Most of all, He wants you to know real love. Love that genuinely sees you, hears you, and respects you; love that longs for you to be free.
Free to shine and be the beautiful person He created you to be.
Free to express the unique sound you were designed to carry.
Free to be the gift that you are—free to be yourself.
In His Great Love,
Michelle Holderman
P.S. To all of you, whether male or female, who have endured this kind of abuse and trauma, to all who are struggling and working to heal, please know that you are not alone—the Lord sees you and cares deeply about what you’re going through; you are not lost on Him. He wants to restore the color and vibrancy of your heart. Listen to His voice—He speaks life, love, hope, and courage over you.
Michelle Holderman
