February 16, 2024 • 36 mins
Born with a severe cleft palate, Sue faced ridicule and harassment on daily basis due to the way she looked. In addition to having to endure multiple surgeries and physical pain, she would also be traumatized by her parent's divorce and an abusive encounter in college that resulted in rape.
Today, Sue Corl is an international women’s conference speaker, author, mentor, Bible teacher, missionary, founder and Executive Director of Crown of Beauty International, and His Heartbeat Podcast host. Her greatest joy is being a wife and mother of two adult children.
She has a passion to see women set free to live in the powerful truths of who they are in Christ and the love of God. She served as a missionary for twenty-five years in Asia. Currently, she travels to minister to women throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the U.S. She has a Master’s of Education from the University of Hawaii and a Master’s of Christian Counseling from Philadelphia Biblical University. She is the author of several books including Crown of Beauty Twelve Week Bible Study, For Such a Time as This, and Broken but Undefeated.
Listen in to this incredible story of perseverance and strength as one woman discovers how to stop believing the lies about beauty and realize how she is seen in the eyes of God.
Website: https://www.crownofbeautyinternational.com
Podcast Link: https://www.crownofbeautyinternational.com/podcast
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sue+Corl&i=stripbooks&crid=MJ4LB7W50FDC&sprefix=sue+corl%2Cstripbooks%2C89&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
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Michelle (00:10):
Hey everybody and welcome back to Qualified, the
place where incredible peopleshare their stories of
overcoming great adversity andloss to inspire you and give you
hope.
I'm Michelle Heaton.
Growing up and finding yourplace in the world can be tough
for a child being in at school,making new friends, being
(00:31):
accepted by others.
We all probably have memoriesfrom our youth that were
difficult Times when we weretaunted or teased or shunned.
Those early days may have beentough at times, but they most
likely created strong characterin us and contributed in a big
way to who we are now.
(00:52):
Well, my guest today had anextremely difficult time in her
early life.
She, too, was ridiculed andexcluded as a young child
because she was born with asevere cleft palate.
She not only had to endure 26surgeries and many months at a
time in the hospital, but also alot of bullying by her peers
(01:13):
when she was in school.
But like all of my incredibleguests, she's an overcomer, a
woman who persevered through thehard times and health issues
and then discovered beauty andadversity that she wants to
share with others.
Today she's an internationalwomen's conference speaker,
author, mentor, bible teacher,missionary, and founder and
(01:38):
director of Crown of BeautyInternational.
Her greatest joy is being awife and mother of two adult
children.
Her name is Sue Corl and it'smy great honor and privilege to
have her as my guest on the showtoday.
Welcome to Qualified Sue.
Sue (01:54):
Thank you, Michelle.
It's so wonderful to be here.
Thanks for having me.
Michelle (01:58):
Of course, thank you.
Well, sue, I shared a littlebit about you in the intro, but
can you take us back and give usa little bit more insight into
what life was like for you backin those early days when you
were struggling with beingbullied because of your
appearance?
Sue (02:16):
Sure, I would say it all began.
The greater part of theadversity was when I did go to
school.
Before that there was a lot ofphysical adversity, physical
pain.
I was in the hospital for mostof my early childhood, zero to
three.
I did figure this out once,about 18 of my surgeries before
(02:44):
the age of six.
But then once I started schoolthey were mostly once a year in
the summertime.
So the problem in that is Iwould get out of surgeries and
it would be a relatively longrecovery.
I had no palate and no nose andno upper lip, and so they're
(03:11):
trying to build it.
And this, of course, was in olddays, before they were actually
just figuring out how to doskin grafting.
It was my very doctor whodiscovered that whole procedure.
Now they do much more complexthings which by the time I hit
high school they actually wantedto do.
One of those procedures and wedeciding not to is very risky.
(03:35):
It's where you take from yourribs cartilage and then you take
all your teeth out, you put itin your to make like an upper
jaw and try to wire those teethback in, but they might reject
it.
It was a huge surgery and itwould also be another summer I
(03:56):
couldn't do anything, and atthat point I was getting into
sports very seriously and turnedout to be extremely talented in
it, and my mom knew that was soimportant to my self-esteem.
So we said no.
Michelle (04:14):
Well, Sue, those surgeries sound super
complicated and I'm sure therecoveries were especially
difficult.
And I also just want to saythank you for giving us the
detail you did about yourcondition and for sharing what
you had to endure in terms ofhospital stays and medical
treatments.
So let's go back again to youryounger days in elementary
(04:35):
school.
Can you describe for us the wayyou were treated when you were
with teachers and other studentsat school?
Sue (04:42):
So, as a child starting school before that, being used
to having all the neighborhoodkids pretty much know me, and so
they get used to you and theyaccept you.
But at school you have allthese new kids, and the boys in
particular feel this freedom tomake nasty comments, and I would
(05:04):
hear it constantly and it justpretty much to my recollection.
Almost every day I come homecrying, and what was probably
one of the worst moments is whenI was in first grade and the
teacher called everybody up tothe reading circle.
You know how they still do that.
And you come up and she reads astory and we talk about it or
(05:28):
we read it too, whatever, andshe's she.
I start to get up and she saysoh, you're staying your seat, we
can understand you.
Oh, no, and so and turns outthat I was a really good reader
already because I started speechtherapy at age three and the
(05:48):
guy had me learn to read veryearly so that I could practice
at home by reading out loud.
However, she obviously devaluedme and it made me feel stupid,
which could be that childrenwere calling me stupid.
It's because you're stupid, youknow that kind of thing.
Went home crying and my momcalled the school.
(06:12):
My mom is a very sweet, gentle,kind woman so I know she didn't
yell at them, but she just toldthem what happened and they
fired the woman.
Then next day I went to schooland I had a new teacher and I
really liked her and she wassuper nice to me because
obviously they told her how totreat me and that helped.
(06:37):
And then we moved and my momhaving seen now a year where it
was really rough for me onplaygrounds I get picked on
things like that she went to theschool ahead of time and she
told the teacher everything andthey suggested that I come the
day after second day of school,not first day.
(06:58):
So first day all the kids camein and she taught them all about
what's a clap pala and how wetreat kids who are different.
So they were really great to me.
I think that helped a lot.
It didn't solve all the problems, I think, as I went into other
years or encountered otherchildren not my in that class or
(07:18):
got the third, fourth, fifthgrade, the time I remember that
was the worst was sixth gradeand I had these two boys.
I still remember their name,john and Glenn.
It was their goal in life tocarerize me every single day.
They did it verbally, theydidn't ever touch me, but it was
bad.
(07:39):
I'm sure that just very muchcontributed to the belief that I
am completely rejectable.
I cannot be loved by any boy orman.
Michelle (07:52):
I'm so sorry about the way you were treated, Sue, and
I appreciate you sharing howthose wounds contributed to your
self-esteem issues.
So you told me that anotherpretty significant event
happened in your family aroundthat time that also had an
impact on you with regard to howyou were treated by the male
figures in your life.
Tell us about that.
Sue (08:14):
My father left our family Another loss because of the
financial strain on my parents,because of my bills, obviously.
So the one guy I had that Itrusted a lot as very close to
that left us.
He didn't abandon us completely, as in.
(08:37):
I never saw him, but his rolechanged from being dad who was
home and knew it was going onand was involved in decision
making and discipline.
He actually cooked breakfastfor us because mom had to go
leave for work at 4am, diddishes at night, weekends, all
that.
That was all gone.
(08:57):
So I really felt like I lost mydaddy.
So that just drilled in thisfact that I can't count on any
guy and that had a huge impacton my life.
Michelle (09:13):
I'm very sorry to hear about your father.
Like you said, more loss,that's hard.
So with so much adversity andloss in your life, Sue, how did
you manage to hold it alltogether?
What kind of support did youhave that helped to carry you
through such a difficult time?
Sue (09:31):
Yeah, I think along the way there were things that really
helped me, I think initiallyhaving a neighborhood with a lot
of kids where again that nextday where we moved to, they were
great and that's where mysecurity came.
Actually One thing that helpedthat was my mom was a nurse
(09:58):
there, so they let her come inat 6am.
Normally you weren't allowed toget there till 8am and she
could stay till 8am and shecould come every day.
You couldn't even be allowed tostay overnight back then and
she would bring crafts and booksand puzzles and all kinds of
things for me to do and reallybe with me in that, so that
(10:25):
companionship, and she wasalways believing in me, pointing
out positive things about me.
Honestly, the doctors andnurses were amazing.
They visit me they're so usedto me being there, I guess and
give me gifts, and that wassweet.
Michelle (10:46):
That's a lot to go through and I'm glad you had the
support of your mom and a fewothers to keep you encouraged.
But you told me that two biglife events happened around 11th
or 12th grade that also helpedyou feel more confident.
Tell us about that.
Sue (11:00):
I discovered that I was a good athlete and I had a friend
invite me to come out for a team.
I never heard of La Crosse,I've never heard of Yodaki, so I
was like, wow, I'm good at this.
And by 9th grade my coach toldme you could be an Olympic
player one day and she knewbecause her sister was one.
(11:22):
So that became my ambition andmy goal and through athletics I
became recognized, includingwith guys.
So I came to believe that Ihave value and I have worth.
But I did not feel I had valueor worth as a feminine human
(11:44):
being.
That makes sense.
I still struggle with that.
Yes, I was very successful inathletics and it gave me
confidence, even with boys.
I would say, you know, it's thebest athlete in school, kind of
thing.
However, what next thinghappened my life was great is
the first time I learned abouthaving a relationship with Jesus
(12:09):
Christ, and that was new for mehaving faith in my life.
My mom was a Christian butdidn't know how to express that.
It wasn't emphasized.
She lived it.
I know she even went to Biblestudies.
She never talked about it.
We didn't ever look at a Bible.
You know nothing like that.
So I get into high school andthere was definitely a revival
(12:33):
kind of thing going on in ourarea 100% you know it's like and
a lot of hippies were turningto Jesus, you know, and there's
this big movement.
I know there's a movie outabout that.
I finally made it to the EastCoast and hit our area and that
was very special, I think,feeling that level of love and
(12:59):
acceptance with Jesus who youthink of as a man, right, I
think that was helpful, honestly, but it still did not erase
that lie and that insecurity.
So as I went off to college, ohmy goodness, I was so nervous
(13:23):
because that's where girls findboyfriends.
I went to a small college andit was kind of known for this is
where you find your mate and Iwasn't going to be having any
guys looking at me.
And right in the beginning Iwent to a party which I
shouldn't have gone to, but Idid, and this good looking guy
started paying attention to me.
(13:43):
He ended up walking me back andraping me.
Michelle (13:47):
Oh no, I am so sorry, sue.
That's just awful, and I knowthat really had to have an
impact on the way you would feelabout men.
You had already experienced thepain of losing your dad some
years before, and now thishappens.
You told me that you began toexperience severe anxiety, that
you referred to as catastrophicanxiety, and you said you felt
(14:10):
like you're always waiting forthe next bad thing to happen.
Can you talk about thosefeelings and how you managed to
ultimately overcome them?
Sue (14:19):
Sure, I think the starting point of anxiety in my life,
which I didn't realize until waylater in life, the root was
that my father leaving us was sounexpected.
My parents, we thought they gotalong, we really did, they were
nice to each other and aroundus.
(14:41):
Now they they weren't togethera lot because they their work
hours were different in the days, because they want to make sure
we were always being watched,and so I have to say that could
have been part of it, but Ithink they were really careful
to not quote unquote fightaround us.
(15:01):
So I think right at the veryend everyone saw we kind of hear
in their bedroom they werelouder than usual.
They're not really yellersanyway, but again, we didn't
know.
And then I come down one day anddad's not cooking breakfast.
Mom's there, she was supposedto be at work and I'm like
where's dad?
(15:21):
And she said oh, he went awayand I occasionally have he had
trips for work.
And I said, oh, when's hecoming back?
And she said never.
And I I mean my world justcollapsed.
So I think, where that feelingof everything can be going,
(15:42):
great, and then it can just endand you won't be ready for it.
Yeah.
Michelle (15:51):
Well, again, I'm so sorry about what happened with
your father and I totallyunderstand the feeling of sudden
, unexpected loss because oflosing my son, Sean.
It can truly leave you with aheightened sense of being on
alert, like a continual fight orflight mode, actually, if you
allow it to, because oncesomething so terrible happens,
you have this realization thatanything can happen at any time
(16:14):
and it can be paralyzing.
So when you come to theconclusion that you were
starting to have those thoughts,what steps did you ultimately
take to turn that way ofthinking off?
Sue (16:24):
I have a rule of thumb, Michelle, that is never say what
if, because what ifs get you introuble.
Secondly, as I once heard, godonly gives you the grace to do
(16:45):
what he's going to bring to youtoday and whatever comes
tomorrow He'll give you thegrace for that, but he hasn't
given you the grace for that yet.
That really spoke to me and Ithought that's so true.
And even as I look back at mylife, it kind of gave me new
(17:06):
lens to look back and see that Idid have an amazing mother who
helped me walk through thosetimes.
I did have the best doctor forcleft palate in the country,
they say, who got me to a placewhere it's pretty unusual to
look the way I do now with suchseverity.
(17:28):
But I'm just saying that was aGod thing.
I think he got us throughfinancially.
Looking at the fact that I don'tthink God loves it when we have
to split up in a marriage oranything.
Yet I spoke with my parents,remarried amazing people and it
was to all of our good.
(17:48):
You know, even law.
Even to this day it has such apositive impact on me.
So you think that these thingsare catastrophic, but there's a
loving God out there who lovesyou and he can work everything
together for good.
But to those who love Him arecalled according to purpose.
(18:13):
It's a two-way street, right,and so he's going to love us
regardless, but if we reallywant to enjoy His blessings,
then we need to choose toworship Him and walk with Him.
You know, and so I've the whatifs aren't an issue for me now,
so don't go there.
(18:33):
That's my advice and that'sreally helpful.
Good.
Michelle (18:37):
But you did mention your mom and I know that she was
a major blessing in your lifeand she was a nurse, but she
also encouraged you and stoodbeside you all through your
early years when you werestruggling.
But then, as you got into yourministry and started speaking
and doing things, she was stillyour biggest cheerleader.
In the later years of her lifeand you mentioned that she
(18:59):
recently passed away, within thelast year but what are those
attributes of her character thathad the greatest impact on your
life and your self-esteem?
Sue (19:12):
Yeah, when my mom passed last year year and three months
ago, I was just so touched thata lot of people came.
But every person who came up toshare all her grandchildren or
a bunch of them and all of uskids, they all just said Mom had
the gift of being present, hergrandma had the gift of being
(19:35):
present, she, whatever, nomatter how busy she was, if you
just dropped in because we woulddo without a warning, she would
just put down whatever she wasdoing.
We all be like, oh I'm sorry,you're in the middle of doing
taxes or whatever.
Right, no, no, no, no, no, no,don't worry about it, come on in
.
And she would just sit andlisten as if she didn't have
(19:57):
anything going on in the worldin her life.
And she was amazing at caringabout whatever you were involved
in and would ask she's alearner anyway, but would ask
great questions and what isChina like?
What is it like to be out inthe countryside there?
(20:18):
Well, how did you get there?
How'd you get home?
It was just a beautiful thingwhere it didn't matter what you
did, who you were, what youbelieved, blah, blah, blah, blah
, blah.
She cared and wanted to knowabout it and you had her 100%
attention all the time andthat's always felt in the
hospital.
(20:39):
That's why I was missing herthis week, because I just wanted
to sit with her, because I knewthat she would care and ask
great questions and rememberabout what I'm going through.
Michelle (20:54):
Well, that's really good.
I love that.
A mom that's present is soimportant.
You know prioritizing theirkids and loving them like God
loves us.
It just changes everything,doesn't it?
Sue (21:08):
Yeah, I just have to comment real quick on that
because I was talking tosomebody about they.
Like I at one point did stepdown from the leadership
position when I had younger kidsand I said, because I was
present, quote unquote with myson one day he's playing and
everything.
But I realized, the whole timeI've been in here for an hour
(21:30):
with him, I've been in my ownworld just thinking about work
and I know I really havecompassion for single mothers
because it's so hard, or singlefathers, but that's the
challenge to us is to justengage from whatever our work is
or whatever, and be 100% justpresent.
(21:52):
And that's what mom could do.
Michelle (21:55):
Yeah, yeah, when you're there, be there.
Okay, so let's fast forward towhat you ended up doing as a
result of going through so muchadversity in life and coming to
these grand conclusions aboutwhat beauty really is and what
it means to be beautiful insideand out, and how your
(22:17):
relationship with God changedyou and prompted you to start
this ministry called Crown ofBeauty.
Sue (22:23):
So if you could just kind of summarize why you did start
it and what's the mission ofCrown of Beauty, what I was
realizing and finding greatchange in my life when, even
beyond saying a beautiful, itwas that I was believing a lie
(22:44):
about myself.
If I look at what God's wordsays about me and you look to
Michelle and every one of youlistening, he says the most
beautiful things about us.
He says we're valuable, we'reimportant, we're precious to him
, we are enough.
(23:04):
That he has all the strength weneed, that he loves us no
matter what, that we're 100%forgiven.
There's not just second chances, but a million chances.
That he never gives up on us.
So he has died for us.
He loves us so much that wewill spend our entire eternity
with him, adoring him and himadoring us.
(23:27):
He delights in us.
All these truths that the worldor people around us or
circumstances are mind.
The enemy, who we unseen enemy,is trying to always pull us the
other way and say the opposite.
So I came to realize that Ineed to really know what truth
(23:50):
is and it's in God's word.
And truth about him, truthabout me, truth about the world,
and I have to put that over myfeelings Now.
At first you're just saying itby faith, but as you continue to
say it, the scripture saysrenew your mind and it will
(24:10):
bring transformation.
In Romans 12 two.
As I renew my mind in that newthought.
And a lot of people saypositivity, right, have to have
positive thoughts, that's a partof it.
But because God is verypositive, but it's in power,
it's one thing to just think athought.
(24:32):
It's another thing.
When somebody who knowseverything, who's all
intelligent, all knowing, allbeautiful, all kind, all all,
all right, is the one who'ssaying that you're all these
positive things.
There's power in that, right.
If somebody who's a creep tellsme and I've had that happen
(24:55):
somebody who's got wrong motivescomes by and says oh baby,
you're so gorgeous, right?
Well, what does that mean?
Nothing, his motive's not good,right.
But if the God who has total,pure motives says that to me you
(25:15):
are my precious daughter, who'sso beautiful, who I love to
just look at and you are theobject of my delight, you make
me feel happy today.
What a beautiful thing to say.
In fact, even in song of songs,you know, calls us his bride
and his darling.
You know all these beautifulwords.
Michelle (25:38):
Well, thank you for those reminders, and it's so
important to renew our minddaily with those thoughts.
It's so easy to beat ourselvesup on some days, but remembering
how God sees us can make allthe difference.
And coming from you, someonewho had to endure so much and
had to struggle with not onlythe lies you were hearing in
(25:59):
your own head, but the hatefulcomments that came from others
about your appearance when youwere growing up, that's what
makes your words so powerful inmy mind that you overcame those
horrible thoughts and lies thatwere coming at you, and you want
others to do the same.
So what about someone who, likeyou, may have been raped or
(26:20):
abused or feels unattractive andunlovable?
What words of encouragement doyou have for them?
Sue (26:29):
Yeah, we've all been through really hard things and I
don't want to just slap on abumper sticker.
You know, hey, you're beautiful.
I know the pain, I know thestruggle.
What I also want to add, though, is that when we do believe
those lies, and again they goback to our childhood 99% of the
(26:50):
time, there is a 1% where, ifyou could have, like, been so
healthy and strong, and then youget into an abusive marriage
that will just whittle you downto nothingness I've seen that so
but majority goes back tochildhood.
And then what happens is wedon't want to feel that way, I
didn't want to feel ugly, so weput up defense mechanisms, we
(27:14):
find ways to protect ourselves.
So, the way that I know, afterthat rape, you know what I did I
instantly started dressinghorribly and eating, and eating,
and eating one for comfort.
And secondly, I wanna make sureno man ever looks at me again,
(27:35):
cause I don't wanna get rapedagain.
So we have these responses.
So I guess what I wanna say is,I think, one we do need to go
back to where the root of allthat began.
Secondly, how did we respond tothat?
To kind of protect our songs,because then what happens is we
(27:59):
do things like I did to makethings worse, right?
So I started drinking, Istarted an eating disorder.
I can't blame God for that.
You know what I'm saying.
I have to deal with that eatingdisorder.
I have to deal with thatdrinking problem.
How?
By realizing that God doesn'twant me to run to those things,
(28:22):
to run to things outside of him,to fix my broken emotions First
off.
Secondly, then I need to bringmy whole heart to him and let
him begin to heal my heart.
I can't just, you know, if Ijust go like then, if I just try
to get rid of my eatingdisorder and that's all I deal
(28:45):
with, well, then I'm just gonna.
Even if I deal with it, I'mgonna turn you another ism.
You know, alcoholism, eatingdisorders, another disorder.
To cope, what I have to do isget to the root of that lie.
Where did it begin?
And then it can empower me tofor my behaviors to begin to
(29:09):
change as my behaviors change.
For example, then I starteddressing nicer.
I started, you know, havingnicer haircuts, you know.
I started eating better, youknow.
And still I have to watch thatLike I had kind of a stressful
(29:30):
week and I'm definitely on adifferent health kick right now,
eating really healthy food, andI was in drinking junkie food
but I started overeating and Icaught it.
I get on the scale and that'slike a okay trigger.
We could look at those triggersand I looked and I was like,
okay, I need to go back to mycoach.
(29:52):
I definitely suggest counseling.
I definitely that really helpedme.
I have coach now, a healthcoach.
That's really helping me.
And I had to recognize and say,oh, there I go again,
comforting myself Can I blameGod?
No, I have to blame me but atthe same time realize that God
is kind and patient.
Michelle (30:13):
That's really good, Thank you.
It's so interesting how thesethings that have occurred in our
lives can be triggers forunhealthy behaviors, and I love
the way you made a consciouseffort to take ownership for the
part that you can control andstart eating better and taking
better care of yourself, versusturning to other vices to avoid
the pain.
(30:34):
It takes a lot of courage anddiscipline, but it's so
important to do so.
I have to say I'm amazed bywhat you're doing, how you're
telling your story all over theworld to people who need
encouragement.
I believe it's what many of usare called to do to comfort
others with the comfort thatwe've received from God.
As horrible as some of ourcircumstances may have been, God
(30:57):
can use them for good if wecooperate with the plan right?
Sue (31:02):
Yes, for years I wanted God to take away my cleft palate.
For years I was angry that Ihad to have that.
But I have to tell you that ifI didn't have that, I wouldn't
be talking to you today.
All of you wouldn't belistening to me today.
I wouldn't be going to thehilltribs of the Keren people in
Thailand riding 10 hours, 12hours, up in a jeep into
(31:25):
villages with no electricity,telling people my story, my
mom's story, giving hope towomen who never have a chance
for that.
Having an elder woman come upto me after with a translator,
saying I was planning to commitsuicide tonight, I was hopeless
but I had to come here becausethe whole village came and they
dragged me here.
But I had the plan to go backand drown myself.
(31:47):
But after hearing what your momdid in the face she had, I
believe God can give me thefaith to handle what I'm
handling.
I mean I have that happen to meall the time.
That's why, when I came homefrom conferences and my mom
would say to me, who have wehelped today?
What happened?
(32:08):
That our journey together haschanged women's lives literally
around the world.
But God sees you, he looksthrough that veil and he loves
you so much.
And even if your outercircumstances don't change which
(32:29):
is the thing he said to me atthat time your inner heart can
100% change and you can knowthat you're incredibly loved and
precious.
You see what I'm saying it'sthe inner beauty that changes
our outer beauty.
Michelle (32:46):
Well, Sue, I so appreciate everything you had to
share today.
You reminded us that weshouldn't focus on what might
happen in the future, that Godwill give us the grace we need
for today, and we shouldn'tworry about tomorrow, because
it's not here yet.
You talked about the power oflove and having a loving support
network, and encouraged parentsto be present as much as
(33:09):
they're able when they'respending time with their
children.
You shared your own feelingsabout not being acceptable and
lovable, and you helped us tosee that there are things that
are within the realm of ourcontrol for positive change.
You told us that God delightsin us, that he says we're
beautiful and valuable and thatwe're His precious children, and
(33:32):
you realized that yourstruggles, as hard as they were,
could be used as a platform tohelp others.
Sue, in closing, how would yousummarize the lessons you
learned from your adversity andloss in life?
Sue (33:46):
Don't ask the what ifs.
God only gives you the gracefor what you need to have for
today and seek to live accordingto truth above your feelings,
not to negate feelings.
You definitely wanna be honestwith your feelings and bring
them to God, but know that whatis really is true is what he
(34:14):
says, and find out what that is.
Find out.
I appreciate people, those ofyou listening who don't know God
.
I appreciate that you're here.
You're so valuable, you're sospecial.
You may not know Him, but heknows you.
You may not know to love Himyet, but he loves you.
(34:36):
I promise you that and if youcan tap into that love, you can
get through anything.
Michelle (34:45):
Thank you, Sue.
That's so well said and that isthe truth, isn't it?
Yeah, Well, I'll put a link inthe show notes to your website
so that listeners can learn moreabout all the things you're
doing in the area of ministryand your books and speaking
engagements.
And at this point, I just wannasay thank you so much for
agreeing to come on the show.
(35:05):
It was a pleasure having youhere.
Sue (35:07):
Thank you, Michelle, thanks for having me.
Michelle (35:11):
So for those of you listening, your situation might
be different, but the feelingsmight be the same.
You may feel unloved, unwanted,unattractive, but I hope Sue's
story encouraged you.
She endured so much as a youngchild and then even more trauma
(35:31):
in her college years, but shefound hope and support in her
friends, her mother and then inJesus.
She knows now that God can useall the things that happened to
us in this life for good.
Even though the circumstancesmay not be good, god is good.
So don't lose hope, my friend.
(35:52):
Reach out today to a friend, acounselor, a family member and
make today the start ofsomething new.
It's my prayer that you'll beable to find the hope you need
to make a positive change, likeSue did, and that one day you
too will be able to help someoneelse with the lessons you
(36:12):
learned and your loss.
Thanks for listening, thank you.
Hey everybody and welcome back to Qualified, the
place where incredible peopleshare their stories of
overcoming great adversity andloss to inspire you and give you
hope.
I'm Michelle Heaton.
Growing up and finding yourplace in the world can be tough
for a child being in at school,making new friends, being
(00:31):
accepted by others.
We all probably have memoriesfrom our youth that were
difficult Times when we weretaunted or teased or shunned.
Those early days may have beentough at times, but they most
likely created strong characterin us and contributed in a big
way to who we are now.
(00:52):
Well, my guest today had anextremely difficult time in her
early life.
She, too, was ridiculed andexcluded as a young child
because she was born with asevere cleft palate.
She not only had to endure 26surgeries and many months at a
time in the hospital, but also alot of bullying by her peers
(01:13):
when she was in school.
But like all of my incredibleguests, she's an overcomer, a
woman who persevered through thehard times and health issues
and then discovered beauty andadversity that she wants to
share with others.
Today she's an internationalwomen's conference speaker,
author, mentor, bible teacher,missionary, and founder and
(01:38):
director of Crown of BeautyInternational.
Her greatest joy is being awife and mother of two adult
children.
Her name is Sue Corl and it'smy great honor and privilege to
have her as my guest on the showtoday.
Welcome to Qualified Sue.
Sue (01:54):
Thank you, Michelle.
It's so wonderful to be here.
Thanks for having me.
Michelle (01:58):
Of course, thank you.
Well, sue, I shared a littlebit about you in the intro, but
can you take us back and give usa little bit more insight into
what life was like for you backin those early days when you
were struggling with beingbullied because of your
appearance?
Sue (02:16):
Sure, I would say it all began.
The greater part of theadversity was when I did go to
school.
Before that there was a lot ofphysical adversity, physical
pain.
I was in the hospital for mostof my early childhood, zero to
three.
I did figure this out once,about 18 of my surgeries before
(02:44):
the age of six.
But then once I started schoolthey were mostly once a year in
the summertime.
So the problem in that is Iwould get out of surgeries and
it would be a relatively longrecovery.
I had no palate and no nose andno upper lip, and so they're
(03:11):
trying to build it.
And this, of course, was in olddays, before they were actually
just figuring out how to doskin grafting.
It was my very doctor whodiscovered that whole procedure.
Now they do much more complexthings which by the time I hit
high school they actually wantedto do.
One of those procedures and wedeciding not to is very risky.
(03:35):
It's where you take from yourribs cartilage and then you take
all your teeth out, you put itin your to make like an upper
jaw and try to wire those teethback in, but they might reject
it.
It was a huge surgery and itwould also be another summer I
(03:56):
couldn't do anything, and atthat point I was getting into
sports very seriously and turnedout to be extremely talented in
it, and my mom knew that was soimportant to my self-esteem.
So we said no.
Michelle (04:14):
Well, Sue, those surgeries sound super
complicated and I'm sure therecoveries were especially
difficult.
And I also just want to saythank you for giving us the
detail you did about yourcondition and for sharing what
you had to endure in terms ofhospital stays and medical
treatments.
So let's go back again to youryounger days in elementary
(04:35):
school.
Can you describe for us the wayyou were treated when you were
with teachers and other studentsat school?
Sue (04:42):
So, as a child starting school before that, being used
to having all the neighborhoodkids pretty much know me, and so
they get used to you and theyaccept you.
But at school you have allthese new kids, and the boys in
particular feel this freedom tomake nasty comments, and I would
(05:04):
hear it constantly and it justpretty much to my recollection.
Almost every day I come homecrying, and what was probably
one of the worst moments is whenI was in first grade and the
teacher called everybody up tothe reading circle.
You know how they still do that.
And you come up and she reads astory and we talk about it or
(05:28):
we read it too, whatever, andshe's she.
I start to get up and she saysoh, you're staying your seat, we
can understand you.
Oh, no, and so and turns outthat I was a really good reader
already because I started speechtherapy at age three and the
(05:48):
guy had me learn to read veryearly so that I could practice
at home by reading out loud.
However, she obviously devaluedme and it made me feel stupid,
which could be that childrenwere calling me stupid.
It's because you're stupid, youknow that kind of thing.
Went home crying and my momcalled the school.
(06:12):
My mom is a very sweet, gentle,kind woman so I know she didn't
yell at them, but she just toldthem what happened and they
fired the woman.
Then next day I went to schooland I had a new teacher and I
really liked her and she wassuper nice to me because
obviously they told her how totreat me and that helped.
(06:37):
And then we moved and my momhaving seen now a year where it
was really rough for me onplaygrounds I get picked on
things like that she went to theschool ahead of time and she
told the teacher everything andthey suggested that I come the
day after second day of school,not first day.
(06:58):
So first day all the kids camein and she taught them all about
what's a clap pala and how wetreat kids who are different.
So they were really great to me.
I think that helped a lot.
It didn't solve all the problems, I think, as I went into other
years or encountered otherchildren not my in that class or
(07:18):
got the third, fourth, fifthgrade, the time I remember that
was the worst was sixth gradeand I had these two boys.
I still remember their name,john and Glenn.
It was their goal in life tocarerize me every single day.
They did it verbally, theydidn't ever touch me, but it was
bad.
(07:39):
I'm sure that just very muchcontributed to the belief that I
am completely rejectable.
I cannot be loved by any boy orman.
Michelle (07:52):
I'm so sorry about the way you were treated, Sue, and
I appreciate you sharing howthose wounds contributed to your
self-esteem issues.
So you told me that anotherpretty significant event
happened in your family aroundthat time that also had an
impact on you with regard to howyou were treated by the male
figures in your life.
Tell us about that.
Sue (08:14):
My father left our family Another loss because of the
financial strain on my parents,because of my bills, obviously.
So the one guy I had that Itrusted a lot as very close to
that left us.
He didn't abandon us completely, as in.
(08:37):
I never saw him, but his rolechanged from being dad who was
home and knew it was going onand was involved in decision
making and discipline.
He actually cooked breakfastfor us because mom had to go
leave for work at 4am, diddishes at night, weekends, all
that.
That was all gone.
(08:57):
So I really felt like I lost mydaddy.
So that just drilled in thisfact that I can't count on any
guy and that had a huge impacton my life.
Michelle (09:13):
I'm very sorry to hear about your father.
Like you said, more loss,that's hard.
So with so much adversity andloss in your life, Sue, how did
you manage to hold it alltogether?
What kind of support did youhave that helped to carry you
through such a difficult time?
Sue (09:31):
Yeah, I think along the way there were things that really
helped me, I think initiallyhaving a neighborhood with a lot
of kids where again that nextday where we moved to, they were
great and that's where mysecurity came.
Actually One thing that helpedthat was my mom was a nurse
(09:58):
there, so they let her come inat 6am.
Normally you weren't allowed toget there till 8am and she
could stay till 8am and shecould come every day.
You couldn't even be allowed tostay overnight back then and
she would bring crafts and booksand puzzles and all kinds of
things for me to do and reallybe with me in that, so that
(10:25):
companionship, and she wasalways believing in me, pointing
out positive things about me.
Honestly, the doctors andnurses were amazing.
They visit me they're so usedto me being there, I guess and
give me gifts, and that wassweet.
Michelle (10:46):
That's a lot to go through and I'm glad you had the
support of your mom and a fewothers to keep you encouraged.
But you told me that two biglife events happened around 11th
or 12th grade that also helpedyou feel more confident.
Tell us about that.
Sue (11:00):
I discovered that I was a good athlete and I had a friend
invite me to come out for a team.
I never heard of La Crosse,I've never heard of Yodaki, so I
was like, wow, I'm good at this.
And by 9th grade my coach toldme you could be an Olympic
player one day and she knewbecause her sister was one.
(11:22):
So that became my ambition andmy goal and through athletics I
became recognized, includingwith guys.
So I came to believe that Ihave value and I have worth.
But I did not feel I had valueor worth as a feminine human
(11:44):
being.
That makes sense.
I still struggle with that.
Yes, I was very successful inathletics and it gave me
confidence, even with boys.
I would say, you know, it's thebest athlete in school, kind of
thing.
However, what next thinghappened my life was great is
the first time I learned abouthaving a relationship with Jesus
(12:09):
Christ, and that was new for mehaving faith in my life.
My mom was a Christian butdidn't know how to express that.
It wasn't emphasized.
She lived it.
I know she even went to Biblestudies.
She never talked about it.
We didn't ever look at a Bible.
You know nothing like that.
So I get into high school andthere was definitely a revival
(12:33):
kind of thing going on in ourarea 100% you know it's like and
a lot of hippies were turningto Jesus, you know, and there's
this big movement.
I know there's a movie outabout that.
I finally made it to the EastCoast and hit our area and that
was very special, I think,feeling that level of love and
(12:59):
acceptance with Jesus who youthink of as a man, right, I
think that was helpful, honestly, but it still did not erase
that lie and that insecurity.
So as I went off to college, ohmy goodness, I was so nervous
(13:23):
because that's where girls findboyfriends.
I went to a small college andit was kind of known for this is
where you find your mate and Iwasn't going to be having any
guys looking at me.
And right in the beginning Iwent to a party which I
shouldn't have gone to, but Idid, and this good looking guy
started paying attention to me.
(13:43):
He ended up walking me back andraping me.
Michelle (13:47):
Oh no, I am so sorry, sue.
That's just awful, and I knowthat really had to have an
impact on the way you would feelabout men.
You had already experienced thepain of losing your dad some
years before, and now thishappens.
You told me that you began toexperience severe anxiety, that
you referred to as catastrophicanxiety, and you said you felt
(14:10):
like you're always waiting forthe next bad thing to happen.
Can you talk about thosefeelings and how you managed to
ultimately overcome them?
Sue (14:19):
Sure, I think the starting point of anxiety in my life,
which I didn't realize until waylater in life, the root was
that my father leaving us was sounexpected.
My parents, we thought they gotalong, we really did, they were
nice to each other and aroundus.
(14:41):
Now they they weren't togethera lot because they their work
hours were different in the days, because they want to make sure
we were always being watched,and so I have to say that could
have been part of it, but Ithink they were really careful
to not quote unquote fightaround us.
(15:01):
So I think right at the veryend everyone saw we kind of hear
in their bedroom they werelouder than usual.
They're not really yellersanyway, but again, we didn't
know.
And then I come down one day anddad's not cooking breakfast.
Mom's there, she was supposedto be at work and I'm like
where's dad?
(15:21):
And she said oh, he went awayand I occasionally have he had
trips for work.
And I said, oh, when's hecoming back?
And she said never.
And I I mean my world justcollapsed.
So I think, where that feelingof everything can be going,
(15:42):
great, and then it can just endand you won't be ready for it.
Yeah.
Michelle (15:51):
Well, again, I'm so sorry about what happened with
your father and I totallyunderstand the feeling of sudden
, unexpected loss because oflosing my son, Sean.
It can truly leave you with aheightened sense of being on
alert, like a continual fight orflight mode, actually, if you
allow it to, because oncesomething so terrible happens,
you have this realization thatanything can happen at any time
(16:14):
and it can be paralyzing.
So when you come to theconclusion that you were
starting to have those thoughts,what steps did you ultimately
take to turn that way ofthinking off?
Sue (16:24):
I have a rule of thumb, Michelle, that is never say what
if, because what ifs get you introuble.
Secondly, as I once heard, godonly gives you the grace to do
(16:45):
what he's going to bring to youtoday and whatever comes
tomorrow He'll give you thegrace for that, but he hasn't
given you the grace for that yet.
That really spoke to me and Ithought that's so true.
And even as I look back at mylife, it kind of gave me new
(17:06):
lens to look back and see that Idid have an amazing mother who
helped me walk through thosetimes.
I did have the best doctor forcleft palate in the country,
they say, who got me to a placewhere it's pretty unusual to
look the way I do now with suchseverity.
(17:28):
But I'm just saying that was aGod thing.
I think he got us throughfinancially.
Looking at the fact that I don'tthink God loves it when we have
to split up in a marriage oranything.
Yet I spoke with my parents,remarried amazing people and it
was to all of our good.
(17:48):
You know, even law.
Even to this day it has such apositive impact on me.
So you think that these thingsare catastrophic, but there's a
loving God out there who lovesyou and he can work everything
together for good.
But to those who love Him arecalled according to purpose.
(18:13):
It's a two-way street, right,and so he's going to love us
regardless, but if we reallywant to enjoy His blessings,
then we need to choose toworship Him and walk with Him.
You know, and so I've the whatifs aren't an issue for me now,
so don't go there.
(18:33):
That's my advice and that'sreally helpful.
Good.
Michelle (18:37):
But you did mention your mom and I know that she was
a major blessing in your lifeand she was a nurse, but she
also encouraged you and stoodbeside you all through your
early years when you werestruggling.
But then, as you got into yourministry and started speaking
and doing things, she was stillyour biggest cheerleader.
In the later years of her lifeand you mentioned that she
(18:59):
recently passed away, within thelast year but what are those
attributes of her character thathad the greatest impact on your
life and your self-esteem?
Sue (19:12):
Yeah, when my mom passed last year year and three months
ago, I was just so touched thata lot of people came.
But every person who came up toshare all her grandchildren or
a bunch of them and all of uskids, they all just said Mom had
the gift of being present, hergrandma had the gift of being
(19:35):
present, she, whatever, nomatter how busy she was, if you
just dropped in because we woulddo without a warning, she would
just put down whatever she wasdoing.
We all be like, oh I'm sorry,you're in the middle of doing
taxes or whatever.
Right, no, no, no, no, no, no,don't worry about it, come on in
.
And she would just sit andlisten as if she didn't have
(19:57):
anything going on in the worldin her life.
And she was amazing at caringabout whatever you were involved
in and would ask she's alearner anyway, but would ask
great questions and what isChina like?
What is it like to be out inthe countryside there?
(20:18):
Well, how did you get there?
How'd you get home?
It was just a beautiful thingwhere it didn't matter what you
did, who you were, what youbelieved, blah, blah, blah, blah
, blah.
She cared and wanted to knowabout it and you had her 100%
attention all the time andthat's always felt in the
hospital.
(20:39):
That's why I was missing herthis week, because I just wanted
to sit with her, because I knewthat she would care and ask
great questions and rememberabout what I'm going through.
Michelle (20:54):
Well, that's really good.
I love that.
A mom that's present is soimportant.
You know prioritizing theirkids and loving them like God
loves us.
It just changes everything,doesn't it?
Sue (21:08):
Yeah, I just have to comment real quick on that
because I was talking tosomebody about they.
Like I at one point did stepdown from the leadership
position when I had younger kidsand I said, because I was
present, quote unquote with myson one day he's playing and
everything.
But I realized, the whole timeI've been in here for an hour
(21:30):
with him, I've been in my ownworld just thinking about work
and I know I really havecompassion for single mothers
because it's so hard, or singlefathers, but that's the
challenge to us is to justengage from whatever our work is
or whatever, and be 100% justpresent.
(21:52):
And that's what mom could do.
Michelle (21:55):
Yeah, yeah, when you're there, be there.
Okay, so let's fast forward towhat you ended up doing as a
result of going through so muchadversity in life and coming to
these grand conclusions aboutwhat beauty really is and what
it means to be beautiful insideand out, and how your
(22:17):
relationship with God changedyou and prompted you to start
this ministry called Crown ofBeauty.
Sue (22:23):
So if you could just kind of summarize why you did start
it and what's the mission ofCrown of Beauty, what I was
realizing and finding greatchange in my life when, even
beyond saying a beautiful, itwas that I was believing a lie
(22:44):
about myself.
If I look at what God's wordsays about me and you look to
Michelle and every one of youlistening, he says the most
beautiful things about us.
He says we're valuable, we'reimportant, we're precious to him
, we are enough.
(23:04):
That he has all the strength weneed, that he loves us no
matter what, that we're 100%forgiven.
There's not just second chances, but a million chances.
That he never gives up on us.
So he has died for us.
He loves us so much that wewill spend our entire eternity
with him, adoring him and himadoring us.
(23:27):
He delights in us.
All these truths that the worldor people around us or
circumstances are mind.
The enemy, who we unseen enemy,is trying to always pull us the
other way and say the opposite.
So I came to realize that Ineed to really know what truth
(23:50):
is and it's in God's word.
And truth about him, truthabout me, truth about the world,
and I have to put that over myfeelings Now.
At first you're just saying itby faith, but as you continue to
say it, the scripture saysrenew your mind and it will
(24:10):
bring transformation.
In Romans 12 two.
As I renew my mind in that newthought.
And a lot of people saypositivity, right, have to have
positive thoughts, that's a partof it.
But because God is verypositive, but it's in power,
it's one thing to just think athought.
(24:32):
It's another thing.
When somebody who knowseverything, who's all
intelligent, all knowing, allbeautiful, all kind, all all,
all right, is the one who'ssaying that you're all these
positive things.
There's power in that, right.
If somebody who's a creep tellsme and I've had that happen
(24:55):
somebody who's got wrong motivescomes by and says oh baby,
you're so gorgeous, right?
Well, what does that mean?
Nothing, his motive's not good,right.
But if the God who has total,pure motives says that to me you
(25:15):
are my precious daughter, who'sso beautiful, who I love to
just look at and you are theobject of my delight, you make
me feel happy today.
What a beautiful thing to say.
In fact, even in song of songs,you know, calls us his bride
and his darling.
You know all these beautifulwords.
Michelle (25:38):
Well, thank you for those reminders, and it's so
important to renew our minddaily with those thoughts.
It's so easy to beat ourselvesup on some days, but remembering
how God sees us can make allthe difference.
And coming from you, someonewho had to endure so much and
had to struggle with not onlythe lies you were hearing in
(25:59):
your own head, but the hatefulcomments that came from others
about your appearance when youwere growing up, that's what
makes your words so powerful inmy mind that you overcame those
horrible thoughts and lies thatwere coming at you, and you want
others to do the same.
So what about someone who, likeyou, may have been raped or
(26:20):
abused or feels unattractive andunlovable?
What words of encouragement doyou have for them?
Sue (26:29):
Yeah, we've all been through really hard things and I
don't want to just slap on abumper sticker.
You know, hey, you're beautiful.
I know the pain, I know thestruggle.
What I also want to add, though, is that when we do believe
those lies, and again they goback to our childhood 99% of the
(26:50):
time, there is a 1% where, ifyou could have, like, been so
healthy and strong, and then youget into an abusive marriage
that will just whittle you downto nothingness I've seen that so
but majority goes back tochildhood.
And then what happens is wedon't want to feel that way, I
didn't want to feel ugly, so weput up defense mechanisms, we
(27:14):
find ways to protect ourselves.
So, the way that I know, afterthat rape, you know what I did I
instantly started dressinghorribly and eating, and eating,
and eating one for comfort.
And secondly, I wanna make sureno man ever looks at me again,
(27:35):
cause I don't wanna get rapedagain.
So we have these responses.
So I guess what I wanna say is,I think, one we do need to go
back to where the root of allthat began.
Secondly, how did we respond tothat?
To kind of protect our songs,because then what happens is we
(27:59):
do things like I did to makethings worse, right?
So I started drinking, Istarted an eating disorder.
I can't blame God for that.
You know what I'm saying.
I have to deal with that eatingdisorder.
I have to deal with thatdrinking problem.
How?
By realizing that God doesn'twant me to run to those things,
(28:22):
to run to things outside of him,to fix my broken emotions First
off.
Secondly, then I need to bringmy whole heart to him and let
him begin to heal my heart.
I can't just, you know, if Ijust go like then, if I just try
to get rid of my eatingdisorder and that's all I deal
(28:45):
with, well, then I'm just gonna.
Even if I deal with it, I'mgonna turn you another ism.
You know, alcoholism, eatingdisorders, another disorder.
To cope, what I have to do isget to the root of that lie.
Where did it begin?
And then it can empower me tofor my behaviors to begin to
(29:09):
change as my behaviors change.
For example, then I starteddressing nicer.
I started, you know, havingnicer haircuts, you know.
I started eating better, youknow.
And still I have to watch thatLike I had kind of a stressful
(29:30):
week and I'm definitely on adifferent health kick right now,
eating really healthy food, andI was in drinking junkie food
but I started overeating and Icaught it.
I get on the scale and that'slike a okay trigger.
We could look at those triggersand I looked and I was like,
okay, I need to go back to mycoach.
(29:52):
I definitely suggest counseling.
I definitely that really helpedme.
I have coach now, a healthcoach.
That's really helping me.
And I had to recognize and say,oh, there I go again,
comforting myself Can I blameGod?
No, I have to blame me but atthe same time realize that God
is kind and patient.
Michelle (30:13):
That's really good, Thank you.
It's so interesting how thesethings that have occurred in our
lives can be triggers forunhealthy behaviors, and I love
the way you made a consciouseffort to take ownership for the
part that you can control andstart eating better and taking
better care of yourself, versusturning to other vices to avoid
the pain.
(30:34):
It takes a lot of courage anddiscipline, but it's so
important to do so.
I have to say I'm amazed bywhat you're doing, how you're
telling your story all over theworld to people who need
encouragement.
I believe it's what many of usare called to do to comfort
others with the comfort thatwe've received from God.
As horrible as some of ourcircumstances may have been, God
(30:57):
can use them for good if wecooperate with the plan right?
Sue (31:02):
Yes, for years I wanted God to take away my cleft palate.
For years I was angry that Ihad to have that.
But I have to tell you that ifI didn't have that, I wouldn't
be talking to you today.
All of you wouldn't belistening to me today.
I wouldn't be going to thehilltribs of the Keren people in
Thailand riding 10 hours, 12hours, up in a jeep into
(31:25):
villages with no electricity,telling people my story, my
mom's story, giving hope towomen who never have a chance
for that.
Having an elder woman come upto me after with a translator,
saying I was planning to commitsuicide tonight, I was hopeless
but I had to come here becausethe whole village came and they
dragged me here.
But I had the plan to go backand drown myself.
(31:47):
But after hearing what your momdid in the face she had, I
believe God can give me thefaith to handle what I'm
handling.
I mean I have that happen to meall the time.
That's why, when I came homefrom conferences and my mom
would say to me, who have wehelped today?
What happened?
(32:08):
That our journey together haschanged women's lives literally
around the world.
But God sees you, he looksthrough that veil and he loves
you so much.
And even if your outercircumstances don't change which
(32:29):
is the thing he said to me atthat time your inner heart can
100% change and you can knowthat you're incredibly loved and
precious.
You see what I'm saying it'sthe inner beauty that changes
our outer beauty.
Michelle (32:46):
Well, Sue, I so appreciate everything you had to
share today.
You reminded us that weshouldn't focus on what might
happen in the future, that Godwill give us the grace we need
for today, and we shouldn'tworry about tomorrow, because
it's not here yet.
You talked about the power oflove and having a loving support
network, and encouraged parentsto be present as much as
(33:09):
they're able when they'respending time with their
children.
You shared your own feelingsabout not being acceptable and
lovable, and you helped us tosee that there are things that
are within the realm of ourcontrol for positive change.
You told us that God delightsin us, that he says we're
beautiful and valuable and thatwe're His precious children, and
(33:32):
you realized that yourstruggles, as hard as they were,
could be used as a platform tohelp others.
Sue, in closing, how would yousummarize the lessons you
learned from your adversity andloss in life?
Sue (33:46):
Don't ask the what ifs.
God only gives you the gracefor what you need to have for
today and seek to live accordingto truth above your feelings,
not to negate feelings.
You definitely wanna be honestwith your feelings and bring
them to God, but know that whatis really is true is what he
(34:14):
says, and find out what that is.
Find out.
I appreciate people, those ofyou listening who don't know God
.
I appreciate that you're here.
You're so valuable, you're sospecial.
You may not know Him, but heknows you.
You may not know to love Himyet, but he loves you.
(34:36):
I promise you that and if youcan tap into that love, you can
get through anything.
Michelle (34:45):
Thank you, Sue.
That's so well said and that isthe truth, isn't it?
Yeah, Well, I'll put a link inthe show notes to your website
so that listeners can learn moreabout all the things you're
doing in the area of ministryand your books and speaking
engagements.
And at this point, I just wannasay thank you so much for
agreeing to come on the show.
(35:05):
It was a pleasure having youhere.
Sue (35:07):
Thank you, Michelle, thanks for having me.
Michelle (35:11):
So for those of you listening, your situation might
be different, but the feelingsmight be the same.
You may feel unloved, unwanted,unattractive, but I hope Sue's
story encouraged you.
She endured so much as a youngchild and then even more trauma
(35:31):
in her college years, but shefound hope and support in her
friends, her mother and then inJesus.
She knows now that God can useall the things that happened to
us in this life for good.
Even though the circumstancesmay not be good, god is good.
So don't lose hope, my friend.
(35:52):
Reach out today to a friend, acounselor, a family member and
make today the start ofsomething new.
It's my prayer that you'll beable to find the hope you need
to make a positive change, likeSue did, and that one day you
too will be able to help someoneelse with the lessons you
(36:12):
learned and your loss.
Thanks for listening, thank you.
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