walking wounded

Some days I look around at the world and I see every single one of us holding a bag of rocks. I get a sense that each of us have something we’re holding onto that’s hurt us in the past. A deep wound where someone hurt us to the core of who we are. It may have been an accident or on purpose, but we’ve got these rocks. These wounds. And we’re afraid of them.

I recently came across this quote. No author was attached.

Your wound is probably not your fault, but your healing is your responsibility.

We’re all walking wounded. We’re each holding something that just about did us in. And if we got quiet enough and allowed the pain to rise, we fear we’d be done. We wouldn’t make it. The pain and fear would get us.

Many of us hold shame over our wound. What if we could have stopped it? We wonder if it’s our fault. If we brought it on ourselves. Shame might as well be a shovel at the beach. When shame is the loudest voice we listen to, we’re digging ourselves a hole. We’ll bury ourselves alive with the voice of shame. It’s brutal. “You should have…” “Why didn’t you…” “Who do you think you are…”
I’d love to pull you quietly aside and whisper in your ear, “those voices aren’t true.” If you could see the voices of shame for what they are…fear...then maybe you could see them in a new light.

And once you stop believing the shame, it starts to lose its power. And when shame starts to lose its power over you, oh dear friend. Watch out. Things are about to get so good.

Then you might be ready to take responsibility for healing. To stop blaming yourself over a deep wound that you probably didn’t inflict upon yourself. Someone else did. They were hurt so they hurt you. It likely wasn’t your fault.

But your healing is your journey to make. Your resurrection is calling you. The One who made you has this fascinating ability to love you right now and hold a vision of what you could become. I continue to learn that God’s invitation into my pain means I’m being prepared for something new to be done through me. I’ll make the journey a million times if it means I get closer to freedom and wholeness each time.

Take a moment to reflect. Are you holding something heavy? 

Have you avoided it so much that you’ve convinced yourself life is actually going pretty well? Take a deeper look at the bag of rocks you’ve shoved under the bed. Ask the still small voice inside you what to do next.

What if you could set down the bag of rocks? Would you?

Freedom is whispering your name, my friend. In this new year, allow yourself to receive the best gift you could get in 2018. Your healing.