Posts Tagged: i knew their hearts

Choose Joy.

Those two simple words are what the heavens whispered to Jeff Olsen after he lost his wife and 14- month old- son in a 1997 car accident. It would be 15 years later when Jeff would once again receive a whisper– this time telling him that this story of tragedy turned to healing needed to be shared and published. 

There are many lessons that come from reading about Jeff’s journey in his book I Knew Their Hearts. But what captured my attention most of all is the goodness of Jeff’s soul. Despite having lost his leg, enduring 18 surgeries, and daily pain, he is optimistic. He has a love for each person he comes in contact with– for the ER surgeon who attended to him right after the accident (now a dear friend), and for mankind.   in this poignant memoir, he describes his life, his near-death experience, and the years after. Jeff was given the gift of “knowing the beauty of each individual and seeing them as God sees them.” He knows their hearts.

 In our interview, he emphasized  “letting go of judgment and expectations; letting go of our agenda and being at one with what is.”

“Our lives are absolutely perfect. No matter what we are going through, it is all going to be okay. We are in very good hands.”

Jeff’s most rewarding experience in writing has come through the people he meets, and the emails and letters he receives.  “I knew if I would simply share my experience, people would heal from it.” 

“I got an envelope from my publisher soon after the book was published . I thought may be my first royalty check. Instead, inside was a 3 x 5 card with teeny tiny writing from a prisoner in the Clark County Jail of Vancouver. He wrote about his life, what he had lost and learned, and what had changed from reading my book. I wept with gratitude that I was able to play some part in helping another understand what they really are, instead of who they think they are.”

So often we read a book and we put it away without applying the lessons that it has to offer us. We pick up our life where we left off.  After reading I Knew Their Hearts, and talking to the author, I had to change my way of thinking. It caused a paradigm shift in me about our divine purpose and how to overcome adversity through love. This is one of those books that has the potential to change your heart if you let it. 

Thanks so much to Jeff Olsen for sharing his story and teaching that each of us should “seek stillness, find those things which resonate with our soul and make this time Heaven on earth, letting our heart guide us to God.”