Welcome to Mondays @ Soul Survival. Each week I feature a book that I consider a valuable resource. This week’s selection is Picking Up the Pieces: Recovering from Broken Relationships by Lou Priolo.

Divorce, separation, adulterous or unhealthy relationships and break-ups of every kind … who hasn’t experienced the hurt of losing someone or had the need to break off a relationship?

You may be the one who was deserted by someone who said they would never leave you. Sometimes the pain is worsened by the knowledge that your former spouse committed adultery, emotionally or physically.

Or you may be the one breaking off a relationship that you know needs to end, but the sadness seems unbearable. In some cases, you may be the one who went outside of your marriage, either committing full-blown adultery or by getting involved in some other inappropriate relationship. While you know the relationship was wrong, how do you get rid of those “lovin’ feelings”?

Or maybe you haven’t personally experienced that kind of hurt or struggle, but you know someone who has. Lou’s book may be just the answer.

From the introduction:

“Will this ache in my heart ever go away?”

As a professional counselor, I’ve been asked that question a hundred times in dozens of ways. If you are reading this book, chances are that you (or someone you love) have been asking this question, too. When a romantic relationship ends, the confluence of potentially depressing emotions can wreak havoc in the lives of those involved. This is especially true for the person who didn’t want the relationship to end. But for the Christian, there is a very good answer to this oft-asked question.

Yes! Your pain will go away in time.

For a Christian who knows and is willing to do what the Bible says, the heartache will be healed. And the more of God’s Word a person implements, the sooner the anguish will stop. If you are the one who is hurting, there are specific things you can do to ease the pain and help yourself get back to the way you were before the breakup.

This book was originally titled, Losing that Lovin’ Feeling and contains thirty-one short chapters, each one based on a song title, to help you or someone else, “lose those lamentable ‘lovin’ feelings’ as quickly and righteously as possible.”

There are chapters like “How Can I Mend My Broken Heart?,” “How Do Fools Fall in Love?,” “Can’t I Stop Loving You?,” “Why Are You Lonesome Tonight?,” “What Good Comes to the Brokenhearted?,” “Won’t Be Cruel,” and “Someday Your Prince Will Come.” Each one is designed to address some aspect of the strong and painful emotions involved when relationships are broken.

The book also contains several appendixes that are just as helpful as the rest of the book. The first is for the person who is experiencing hurt because of someone he or she was married to or from whom they are currently separated. The second is for someone trying to overcome feelings as a result of their involvement in an adulterous affair. Another one helps the reader see areas where he or she may have sinned. And another one helps him or her know how to “love from afar,” show biblical love to someone to whom they are no longer married.

Picking Up the Pieces doesn’t leave out the possibility of reconciliation when biblically appropriate, but it is a powerful resource for those who are suffering as a result of a broken relationship. Lou says:

You could battle your sorrow in sinful ways (such as constantly reminding yourself what a “turkey” your former sweetheart is),1 but you would only end up in more misery and displease God in the process. You see, sin, which is thinking or acting independently of God, results in both temporal and eternal misery. You may feel pretty miserable right now, but if you don’t respond biblically to the breakup, you will face another kind of misery later in life. If you do this God’s way, you won’t have to resort to methods that are displeasing to God. If you are a Christian, you can do it. The Bible will show you how, the Holy Spirit will lead you, and this book will encourage you along the way.

So what becomes of the brokenhearted? They can heal and they might just do it faster as a result of Lou’s sound, biblical advice!

Blessings,
Donna

Quotations taken from:
Priolo, Lou. Picking Up the Pieces. P&R Publishing. Kindle Edition.

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