Loved just the way you are

Sister Miriam James Heidland lived a life of wild freedom, endless parties and ambitious career plans. She dreamed of wealth, popularity and volleyball success, aiming for a dazzling spot in the limelight. However, during her university years, she began to feel that something was missing. An emptiness she could not fill and wounds she could not heal on her own led her on a quest for something deeper. And she found it. But first, she had to embark on a long journey of healing, gradually transforming from a party girl into a bride of Christ.

In her book Loved as You Are: An Invitation to Conversion, Healing, and Freedom in Jesus, she shares her personal struggles – being placed for adoption by her biological parents, battling alcoholism and recovering from childhood sexual abuse – to challenge us to stop searching for love and peace in the wrong places, and to find them in Christ instead. Sister Miriam realised that Jesus is the love she truly craved, and that only he can heal our wounds. We must not be afraid to surrender to him just as we are, with all our broken pieces and fractured relationships. He awaits us with open, healing arms.