February 26, 2024
Sheila Walsh was one of the most inspiring speakers I’ve heard at the AACC Conferences I attend for my continuing education. Her 2019 “Extraordinary Woman of the Year” award was well-deserved. Sheila traveled from her home in Scotland to share her story. After five years of co-hosting the 700 Club with Pat Robertson, she suffered a terrible breakdown and, as she put it, God allowed her life to fall apart. The day that began on the set of The 700 Club ended with her in a hospital on suicide watch. Sheila told us that God took her to prison to set her free and that “gifts are given to us with bloody hands”.
Sheila’s story of her childhood in Scotland and the extreme pain she suffered at the hands of her ill father is heart-wrenching, but worth hearing and learning from. Her journey through clinical depression taught her in the end that she did not have to carry her shame, that Christ took it and carried it for her. The message she shared was about pressing on through the darkness, holding Jesus’ hand. Sheila reminded us that our Savior gladly bared his scars when he rose from the dead, and that we should bare ours to let others know that they are not alone on this journey.
Listening to Sheila made me more eager to share my own story and less afraid to show my scars. As Christians, we need to be all in! Are you willing to bare your scars to let others know that they are not alone?
