Christine Soule’s life was a jumbled pile of broken pieces. Her father was married seven times; her mother four times.

Between her parents’ divorce when she was 5 years old and the day she allowed the power and presence of God into her heart, she watched her sister have an affair with her adoptive father; met 15 siblings she never knew at her biological father’s funeral; turned to drugs and alcohol; got pregnant at 17; had twins less than two years later; and became a victim of human trafficking.

She knew she had to break the cycle for the sake of her children. With nowhere else to turn, she dropped to her knees and prayed. And that’s when everything changed.

“The places where you feel hopeless are exactly what He wants to redeem and fill with beauty, dignity and strength. He has a plan for your pain. A wonderful intention for your failures. A purpose for your hardest, darkest stories,” Soule explains.

From an early age, Soule was plagued by a crippling fear that followed her into adulthood. Her past of brokenness — abuse, dysfunction, addiction and other trauma — could have very well defined her future. But once she turned to God and asked for His help, He answered her prayers and led her toward a life of healing and blessings.

Soule writes about her unbelievable story in her new book, Broken and Beautiful. In this book, she shares how God took the pieces of her broken, astonishingly dysfunctional life and transformed it all into a breathtaking mosaic of joy and purpose.

Today on Connections, Christine shares how she went from a life filled with pain to a life filled with joy, beauty and purpose.