Monday, October 1, 2018

This Is For All The Wounded Ones (and that includes you and me)

As I followed along in my Bible during a recent Galatians 5 sermon, my eyes wandered over to the left side margin of the crinkled page.  And this question, scrawled in black pen way back in 2010, captured my attention ...

WHAT'S BROKEN INSIDE THAT CAUSES ME TO REACT?
I NEED TO PRAY FOR GOD'S KINGDOM TO REPLACE MINE.

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I wrote about being unraveled and re-knit about a year ago.  And you told me I wasn't the only one.  Click here to read that 'true confessions' post.  


We might be redeemed, but sin still encroaches.  We're all in need of an ongoing, heavy duty connection with the Healer of our souls.




When our hearts are clogged with painful, untended wounds or lingering, unconfessed sin, it's no surprise that we tend to lob verbal knee-jerk reactions in conversations with those we do life with, particularly those we're closest to.

We lash out, we speak our minds without thought or care, we go on and on, our hidden agendas spewing forward as we spout our opinions with little sensitivity to the needs of the listeners held hostage by our diatribes.

If we are unable or unwilling to change our tune, we do serious harm to our valued relationships.  We mar any testimony we may have.  We sadden the heart of God.

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When our hearts are tended and still, when the fruit of the Spirit fills our souls with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control {Galatians 5:22-23}, we're far more likely to respond thoughtfully to others rather than simply react with the first thing that flies off the top of our heads. 

Our goal is to become so in love with our Heavenly Father and be so in step with the promptings of His Spirit that we swing wide the doors and invite Him to heal and forgive and re-shape us.

And wonder of wonders, we begin to respond to life's crazyness with a thoughtful wisdom that speaks blessing to other wounded souls.

Because we've been in the pit and we've been redeemed and released.

For when we offer the broken places to the Wounded Healer, He is able to mend that which has been torn along the way.  The sin and the shame and the ugliness.  The abandonment and the rending.  The hurt and the disappointment and the messy sorrow of it all.  The overwhelming fear and the creeping anxiety that so easily have made themselves at home along the way.  

All the wearisome baggage that's been holding us hostage.

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As we become sensitive to the Spirit's beckoning minute by minute, we can more quickly give God any unsettledness that so easily wanders onto the scene.  And if sin has a propensity to pile up, learning to promptly name it sooner rather than later in confession can become our default mode instead of storing it away for another day.

Constantly connecting with the Holy Spirit releases and frees us from all the junk that's prone to fill our soul's cracks and hidden corners.

As we release, release, release our hold on all the scenarios where we've sinned or been sinned against and the pain that's come to define us along the way, we are freed up to graciously respond to others instead of acting out in ways that harm.

We victoriously shed our roles as those who wound.  And by His powerful grace, we become wounded healers.


please feel free to share

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joining the mid-week conversations 
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38 comments:

  1. Becoming a wounded healer...that's what I want too, Linda. May this be so in all our lives: "We are freed up to graciously respond to others instead of acting out in ways that harm."

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    1. Lisa, hi! Thanks for kicking off the dialogue.

      And your 31 Day Series, Handmade: Finding God in Your Story is unique, for sure! I'm a big fan of thought-provoking questions ... and will be using some of them to spark some thoughts in my journaling this month. Thanks so much going there. I hope you have fun posting each and every day!

      ;-}

      * Readers, go here to visit Lisa
      https://www.lisanotes.com/handmade-god-in-your-story/

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  2. A great post full of good sense. Thanx Linda.

    God bless.

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    1. It's so quiet around here, Victor! Thanks for showing up!

      ;-}

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  3. You hit on a real important step when you talk about turning things (sin, attitudes, thoughts, bitterness, etc.) over to God quickly and not letting them pile up. When I do that, it is a new start and I am able to live the day as He wants me to. If I don't turn those things over to Him and let them fester, it starts pulling up whatever I consider "injustices" done to me - past and present - and the focus is once again on me and not God. Good to be reminded of this!

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    1. Injustices done to us and those we love are hard to release, aren't they. There's something that seems so very wrong and we yearn to make it right and fair and shout the truth to the world ... and we hold on to these very real and valid concerns like a dog with a bone.

      But since we serve a God of justice as well as mercy, releasing these very real and valid injustices to the One 'who judges justly' is our only peace, our only freedom.

      And the sooner and quicker, the better.

      I'm glad you went there, Marilyn. Important insight.

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  4. This post is powerful, Linda. With you, I long for a sensitivity to the Spirit's leadings and a heart filled with His fruits. To by His powerful grace become a wounded healer. I so need that "ongoing, heavy duty connection with the Healer of our souls." Thank you for spurring my heart to pray for these things as I read your post! Love and hugs to you!

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    1. I'm encouraged that something here encouraged you to prayer, Trudy. Turning to the Wounded Healer Himself is our only hope, our only release.

      More than ever ...

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  5. When our wounds are raw, gaping, and open we need reminders that God is always here. I'm going through that season right now. Your post was what I needed to read. Thanks!

    Blessings to you and yours!

    Marie

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    1. Marie, I'm saddened that this is such a wrenching season for you, but grateful that you found something that was helpful here.

      Bless you as He stretches and grows you in the process. He loves you so ...

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  6. I am struck by this post and how God often has a theme He speaks through many of us. I wrote a future post yesterday that echoes some of this theme. Your words and wisdom are clear throughout, my friend.💕

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    1. Don't you just love when the words that have flowed from your heart align with another's?

      Just like God to give us that extra joy ...

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  7. I find that as my body collapses, wounds were an illusion. I soar.

    https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2018/09/your-dying-spouse-521-show-your-heart.html

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    1. Our whole perspective shifts drastically when what we held dear slips away. Yes, Andrew, yes.

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  8. Beautiful, Linda . . . Yes, we are all wounded, but when we focus on Jesus, we can become healers for others.
    Blessings!

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    1. Ah, you hit the nail on the head, Martha. The need to focus on Jesus instead of the piles that threaten to undo us.

      Amen, friend.

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  9. BEAUTIFUL, My Friend! I cannot think of anyone I know who is not wounded. Allowing Him to heal our wounds creates a healed warrior for the cause of Christ!
    Blessings, My Friend!

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    1. You're absolutely right, Lulu. I get curious and concerned when someone maintains that they've never had a broken-hearted sorrow.

      I think they're not telling me the truth. And feel sad that they're missing out on an encounter with healing grace.

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  10. Linda, what a powerful post! Oh my goodness, you've spoken to my heart. One (of many) thing you wrote that resonated was:

    "For when we offer the broken places to the Wounded Healer, He is able to mend that which has been torn along the way."

    I've found that God does the healing work within me, but sometimes my mind has to catch up and change the way it perceives life so that it aligns with the healing God's done in my heart. Does that make sense? But, when my mind and my heart are in sync with the work God has done, those old wounds have no power over me anymore. Our God is so, so good.

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    1. Jeanne, hi! When I read your post this week, all I could think about was how our writing aligned with each other. I love when this happens ... it makes me realize yet once again how beautifully supportive the blogging community can be.

      https://jeannetakenaka.wordpress.com/2018/10/01/trust-managing-or-living/

      And yes, my friend, what you say makes perfect sense. Our minds sure can get overloaded, overwhelmed, and slow to process all that we're working through.

      Grace, grace to you in this season ...

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  11. "Wounded healers." I really, really like that. There's the popular phrase "hurting people hurt people." The good news that your post made me realize is that "healing people help heal people." And overall reminds me of how precious His grace is toward us and how important it is to spread that grace to others.

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    1. You said it best, Lynn!

      'Healing people help heal people.'

      And that's the living, grace-based truth.

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  12. In all my efforts to tidy myself up and appear to have it all together, I know--Oh, how I know--that the Wounded Healer Himself is at work in this middle aged bundle of contradictions. So grateful for grace!

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    1. Oh, I relate to your description, Michele -->'this middle aged bundle of contradictions.'

      Oh yes, that's who's in my mirror!

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  13. Beautiful truth, Linda. It also reminds me of one of Henri Nouwen's book, The Wounded Healer.

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  14. I love your vulnerability, Linda, and your encouragement to us to do the same with our Lord. I think about how Jesus asked the paralyzed man if he wanted to get well. It seemed like a silly question on the surface, but it's one we all need to ask ourselves. We all need to realize our need for healing, no matter how tattered our lives are, and look to the Savior to bring in His restoration. You've touched me with this post, Linda! I need to turn to the Savior for more healing today!

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    1. Beth, isn't that one of the best questions Jesus ever asked?

      Along the way, I've been surprised at how many people really DON'T want to get well, don't want to release the past, don't want to move ahead.

      Their identity is stuck in the past, even if it was the pits.

      The old and worn is exactly that, old and worn. But at least it's familiar, even though it's all so very wearisome. And deep in the heart of that decision is fear of 'who would I be if I released all this stuff?'

      I'm glad you went there today. Best . question . ever.

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  15. Shedding baggage is so hard for so many. May the thoughts and idea of freedom you plant here come to fruit.

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    1. In the hours after I hit PUBLISH, I prayed that just one person would be blessed by this post.

      It sure beats looking for numbers and waiting for commenters to swing on by.

      May all our writing yield eternal fruit. By His prompting ...

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  16. Linda, I sent you an email with my response as I did not want to share it here. Your words today meant a lot to me....and thank you for your faithfulness in this space.

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    1. Dear Carol, thank you for taking the time to write to me. I am grateful for our re-connection today and absolutely touched by your heart and your words.

      Bless you ...

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  17. What a beautiful idea to become a wounded healer. To allow the Holy Spirit to infuse us with His grace and in the process of receiving pour out the overflow into others.

    Your words reflect a deep thought process and working through your own brokenness to come to this place of connecting with the Spirit. Thank you for sharing this out loud with us.

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    1. Don't you love that He specializes in redeeming our brokenness, friend! Joel 2:25-27 was a lifeline for me when I was in the pit. Yes, He does restore the years the locusts have eaten.

      Praise His name!

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  18. Ah, Linda ... the fruit of the Spirit. Such a powerful collection of gifts that only God can truly grow in us. Slowly, purposefully, powerfully. What you've written here is so wise and so needed, my friend. Thank you.

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    1. May He continue the work He's started in us all.

      Yes, Lois, yes ...

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  19. Linda, what a powerful, open, honest, and transparent post! I especially resonated with this quote, “Our goal is to become so in love with our Heavenly Father and be so in step with the promptings of His Spirit that we swing wide the doors and invite Him to heal and forgive and re-shape us.” Amen and amen! Many blessings to you ❤️

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    1. I'm glad you're here with me this weekend, Beth.

      Thank you ...

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