Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Please welcome friend and fellow author Susan G. Mathis as she shares about God’s healing after loss in her new book, Madison’s Mission.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3 (NIV)
Grief has a way of making us feel like we’re walking through life with shattered glass in our chest. The heartache of loss doesn’t just hurt—it changes us. It can make us afraid to feel again, to love again, or to hope again. In Madison’s Mission, Madison knows this kind of pain intimately. After losing her family in Ireland and then her beloved aunt, she feels as though there’s little left of her heart to give. Now she serves as a lady’s maid to the ailing Mrs. Boldt, and the thought of another loss terrifies her. She’s built walls around her emotions, especially when it comes to Emmett, a kind and steady presence who longs to be close to her.
But Madison’s story reminds us of a deeper truth: God is not finished with us in our sorrow. In fact, it’s often in our brokenness that His healing begins. God meets us in the middle of our pain.
Psalm 34:18 tells us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” He doesn’t wait for us to be “over it.” He doesn’t rush us through grief or demand a timeline for healing. He meets us right in the midst of it—with compassion, patience, and love.
Like Madison, we may feel that trusting again is too dangerous, too risky. But God gently reminds us that He is a safe place for our sorrow. We don’t have to hide our pain from Him.
After deep loss, fear can take root. Fear of losing again. Fear of hoping again. Fear of being vulnerable. But fear is not from God. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
Healing starts when we stop letting fear write the story and start letting God do what only He can—restore, renew, and rebuild our hearts. For Madison, that means slowly learning to let others in, to risk love, and to believe that not every story ends in loss. Sometimes the very thing we resist is what God uses to bring healing. Emmett is patient with Madison. He doesn’t push, but he doesn’t walk away either. And little by little, she learns that not every close relationship leads to heartbreak—that God can use human kindness to stitch together the torn places in our hearts.
Whether it’s a friend, a family member, or a gentle stranger, God often sends people into our lives to reflect His love when we need it most. Romans 15:13 offers a prayer we can all cling to in times of sorrow: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Hope doesn’t mean forgetting. It doesn’t mean pretending the pain didn’t happen. It means trusting that God still has a future for us. That He is writing a story we can’t yet see—and it’s full of grace. Loss may shape our hearts, but it doesn’t have to define them. Like Madison, you may be walking a road of grief—but you are not walking it alone. God is with you, and His healing is already at work.
Letting God heal Share on X
Step into the captivating world of Boldt Castle in 1903, where dreams are forged in the fires of adversity and love.
Madison Murray, the devoted maid to the legendary Louise Boldt, harbors a singular mission—to care for her ailing mistress while hiding her own painful past. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Emmett O’Connor, the distinguished foreman overseeing Boldt Castle’s extravagant construction. Their connection sparks with promise, yet the chasm of class difference and hidden secrets loom large.
Just as their budding romance begins to flourish, tragedy strikes, shattering their world. A deadly accident leaves Emmett wrestling with guilt and at the center of an investigation that could unravel everything he holds dear. Then Madison finds herself ensnared in a dangerous coverup that threatens her very life.
When Mrs. Boldt passes away, Madison is left reeling—jobless and burdened by the weight of her perceived failures. In a world filled with uncertainty, can she summon the strength to move forward and confront her past? Will Emmett rise above his challenges to forge a future alongside the woman who has captured his heart? ~Madison’s Mission
Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than thirty times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has fifteen titles in her fiction line, garnering numerous book awards. Susan is also a published author of two premarital books, two children’s picture books, stories in a dozen compilations, and hundreds of published articles. She makes her home in Northern Virginia and enjoys traveling around the world but returns each summer to enjoy the Thousand Islands. Visit her website at https://www.susangmathis.com/fiction-books for more.
Madison’s Mission book trailer.
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
Connect with me via:
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2025 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
