28-year-old Mattie Jackson Selecman was gathered with her husband and friends for a fun Labor Day weekend when the unthinkable happened.
Her husband Ben slipped on a boating dock and hit his head – causing him to spend 12 days in ICU before his severe brain injury ended his life.
Now a widow at the tender age of 28 – Mattie shares how God sustained her through her darkest days.
Nothing prepares us for the death of a loved one.
The excruciating pain of no longer having the person we cherish in our lives causes unspeakable grief.
If the person happened to be a Christian, we can take some comfort in knowing they are in the arms of Jesus, but it still hurts our earthly hearts.
And for Mattie, watching her husband fight for his life until God called him home broke her to a whole new level.
The Christian Post reported:
“To say that it was a shock feels like a massive understatement,” Selecman, now 31, said. “My marriage was taken so unexpectedly and suddenly. I was so young, just 28. To be honest, it was very clear to me very soon after his passing that this was not something that I was going to have the strength to handle by myself in a healthy way.”
But instead of losing her faith and cursing God, this tragic accident brought her closer to God in ways she never imagined.
She spent time in His presence, journaling, crying out, and staying in His Word.
Through her grief journey, she knew only God could heal her broken heart.
The Christian Post continued:
“I just wanted assurance that He was truly with me, every moment, and that the future that was so uncertain was in His hands. The scariest thing to think about was that my healing and my future were in my own hands because that was totally impossible,” Selecman said.
But Selecman didn’t stay focused on her own grief.
A few years later, as she read through her journal entries detailing the raw emotion she had experienced during those dark times, she felt led to make her story public.
Her hope was to help others who were suffering and remind them God is always there – and show them that He’s a personal God who cares.
The Christian Post continued:
“God kept opening door after door, and it became clear that He wanted me to share this,” she said. “I started to look at, how can we get this into a format that’s really honest about my story and honest about who God is, and hopefully serve as an inspiration to others and give some practical and spiritual takeaways for people who’ve experienced loss and just let them see a little hope in my story as I found it.”
Mattie Jackson Selecman is an inspiration.
Her faith was tested, but she stayed true to God’s Word, knowing He would sustain her and heal her even if she didn’t know how.
She was honest with God in her struggles, and sought healthy ways to deal with her grief.
And now, she is brave enough to use her story to help someone else who may be struggling.
If you want to purchase her book Lemons on Friday: Trusting God Through My Greatest Heartbreak you can do so here.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” – John 3:16-17
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