We as humans require meaning in our lives. All the money, power, and material possessions in the world will not make us happy if our life is devoid of meaning. However, if life has meaning, we can withstand almost anything. The reality is that if we live long enough, we will become broken by events in the world that are tragic and painful beyond belief. Grief breaks every one to one degree or another.
All too often, comfort produces an amnesia effect in our lives. It gives us a false sense of security. We mistakenly believe we are the main source of security in our lives and those around us. When the unexpected happens and we are challenged, it reminds us of our limitations and causes us to look beyond ourselves for help.
Self-reliance is like a brittle fence that has been eaten away by termites. It may have the appearance of strength and fortitude, but a little agitation reveals its true condition. When we are broken, the fences we construct that has isolated us from those around us come crumbling down. From there, we are open to receiving encouragement, correction, and a new vision for our lives.
Our tendency when going through times of great difficulty is to rush through them as quickly as possible. This resistance to being present in times of suffering can lead us to miss hearing the voice of instruction. Slowing down allows us to realise that the true lesson to be learned is in the pain and not always on the other side of it.
Remember, it is okay to be broken. It could be pride that is killing our soul; it could be self-criticism (being too hard on ourselves); it could be our attitude that is making us bitter and resentful. We could also be struggling with unforgiveness. No one in this world should ever expect us to be perfect. We will never be perfect in man’s eyes.
If we want to be healed from our pain, we must be intentional about it, but please, remember that our season is not punishing us for what we did in the past, or what we could not achieve. Our season is birthing something spectacular that we never thought of. Our season is beautiful, so do not look down on yourself.
We all have broken pieces, we all have scars, we all have a past, but guess what, we don’t live in them. There is no time frame for fixing the broken places of our grief. It will take as long as it takes. As long as we are willing to work through our pain of loss, we will eventually learn new ways of dealing with it.