In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart: Hope for the Hurting

by Ruth Bell Graham

Ruth Graham--third daughter of Billy Graham--has discovered through bitter personal experience that God does his great work in the ruins of our lives. As Ruth's life descended through divorce, depression, and shame; as she bore heartrending parental struggles; and as she faltered trying to make wise choices in the wake of bad ones, she discovered the unending embrace of a faithful, forgiving, and grace-filled God. This book surpasses the testimony of her fascinating story as she brings sharp new insight from the Word of God for all who fear their actions may be beyond forgiveness or their broken circumstances may keep them from being used by God ever again. Through the words of Jeremiah--the weeping prophet--Ruth reveals the God who makes wasted places come to life. The reader grasps the parable of the Prodigal Son as never before as Ruth discloses her own journey through that parable, first as the indignant older brother struggling to understand God's grace toward her husband's infidelity, then as the prodigal when her own actions bring deep shame and painful circumstances, and even in her role as the father, running to embrace her own children in the midst of bulimia, drug abuse, and unwed pregnancy.Finally, Ruth includes practical steps in every chapter anyone can take to offer care, support, and hope to the broken people they encounter in their lives and in the pews beside them every Sunday.The broken and those who love them will run with Ruth to the arms of the God they can trust, the Father God who embraces, sustains, and redeems. Foreword by Billy Graham.

Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2004

About the author

Ruth Graham was born in China; her parents were American medical missionaries at the Presbyterian Hospital 300 miles north of Shanghai. Ruth was a Christian from an early age. She graduated from Wheaton College, Illinois, where she met her future husband Billy Graham. They were married on August 13, 1943 in Montreat, NC when she was 23. Her husband became a full time evangelist preaching the gospel all over the world. She loved to move behind the scenes, away from the spotlight, and helped him craft and research sermons and even books. She wrote as an emotional release, while her husband was so often on the road. Ruth convinced Billy to move the family to Montreat, near her parents, when their first child was on the way. Her ministry flourished in the mountains of western North Carolina, where she built the family homestead and raised five children. Ruth and Billy were married over 65 years and had 19 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. Ruth Graham died at the age of 87.