Everybody has a story. Wendy Saxton didn't know the privilege of being raised in a peaceful and secure environment. As far back as she can remember, if she wasn't creating some sense of security for herself, there was none.

At age thirteen she accepted a classmates' invitation to church, hoping to fit in. The small, family environment invoked feelings of security among authority figures; a first for her. Within weeks she accepted Christ as her Savior and experienced peace for the first time, though her circumstances at home didn't change.

A year later, her sense of security and peace unraveled.

Wendy, like many others, was deeply wounded in church. Too young to separate the actions of fallible man from the unfailing love of God, she resolved that she wanted no part of Christianity. She went back to being godless where at least she knew what to expect and vowed never to speak to Jesus again.

Twenty-three years later, she was the poster-child for hopelessness. Wounded from years of sexual abuse and devastated by the choices she made in the aftermath, she was at last too weary to hate. Too weak to point a finger. She broke her vow of silence and said the J word.

"Jesus . . . who are You? Never mind what I've been shown. I need You to show me who You are, and who was I supposed to be before thousands of unwanted touches?"

Peace over took her, she was not alone. Wendy's prayer marked the beginning of a passionate relationship with Christ. Some days she studied her Bible. Other days she threw it across the room. Jesus loved her the same both days.

Wendy learned valuable lessons as she healed. She learned that heartbreaking circumstances cannot overshadow the redeeming love of God. That it's okay to be mad at God, He's big and He can take it. And that more often than not, healing is a slow and steady climb. But she wouldn't change that if she could. On that mountain, she discovered how beautifully her hand fits in the Saviors'.

Wendy has a message for women bound to perpetual heartache and trauma: "He does not minimize the circumstances that break our hearts. We do, when we deny Him access to the pain."

Her book, The Jonah Chronicles, is a candid re-telling of her fight for freedom from the effects of abuse, betrayal, and religious rejection.

She is the founder of The Medicine Place, an on-line women's ministry. Using her own experience as a platform, she addresses complex women's issues such as abuse, betrayal, co-dependency, and boundary setting with a drug-addicted loved one.

Wendy lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband, eleven-year-old son, and two very spoiled Labrador Retrievers. Including two grown sons who are easily lured with home-cooked meals.