"If you really desire to be used by God, you must understand a painful truth. The very experiences that you have resented or regretted most in life - the ones you've wanted to hide and forget - are the experiences God wants to use to help others."

For God to use your painful experiences, you must be willing to share them. You have to stop covering them up, and you must honestly admit your faults, failures and fears. Doing this will probably be your most effective ministry. People are always more encouraged when we share how God's grace helped us in weakness than when we brag about our strengths. "