Out of the Ashes
He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
There are a lot of broken hearted people this morning. There are moms and dads in Manchester, England who have just learned that their son or daughter is not coming home. There are family members and friends who are trying to understand the shock of hearing that a loved one is gone. A senseless tragedy leaving sorrow in its wake. There are many broken people this morning because the world is a broken place. At a time like this people are looking for someone to blame, at the top of the queue is government, politics, race, religion and extremism. Yes, there is plenty of blame to go around! Senseless tragedies like this make us yearn for justice, for answers and action! There are no easy answers. The truth is this world is a broken place full of broken people.
Manchester, England is not the only place where hearts are full of sorrow and heartache. People all around the world are feeling loss and sadness every day. Loss of children, parents and friends. Loss of health, marriages or dreams. It happens all around us, it happens to us!
Over the long weekend the kids were at their biological father's. It is a full day drive to get there and we were all super tired when we got home. I crawled into bed, exhausted from a long trip, and felt sorrow well up in my heart. Hot tears rolled onto my pillow. I cried for the pain I saw in my children as they experienced the transition one more time from Daddy's house to Mommy's house. I cried for the confusion and struggle they feel as they try to wrap little hearts and minds around loving both parents, divided loyalties and separated families. I cried for self pity, the loss of a marriage, a family system and home, I cried for the brokenness in my family and in the world.
A few years ago when my marriage was falling apart I told my counsellor I felt uprooted. Like a tree grabbed by the trunk and pulled from the soil, painfully tearing root from root; the dirt and debris of my life falling in chunks on the ground. It hurt. I was so broken.
She spoke wise words to me, words I have held on to through that trial and words that brought me comfort and peace as my life changed and grew. She said," You are uprooted, but God has a plan in this. God is going to replant you somewhere and it is going to be amazing!" She was right you know!
God has replanted me, and my life is once again full of laughter, love and peace. Last night I had a moment of weakness and exhaustion, the pain still comes and goes and I hurt for my children most of all. I was able to rest my head and close my eyes in peace despite my tears as this time God's words came to my heart. "He heals the broken hearted."
My friend I am sharing this real pain and struggle with you because I want to reach out to you where you are at. I want to be real. There is so much pain in life and if you are going through a time of sorrow, there is hope. If you are experiencing a loss today, my heart weeps with you.
Hope doesn't take away the pain, it doesn't mean you won't cry until you think you can't stop, it doesn't mean you won't grieve. It means that through it all there is a voice of comfort. A voice that sustains. " He heals the broken hearted" He can heal you too if you let him.
Hang on my friend. Hang on to Him. Something beautiful will grow out of the ashes, the burnt remnants of this heartache. Something beautiful will grow out of this hurt.
That something will be you!
