This weekend On the Porch we're curling up with a 4 minute video ... and being reminded again that our personal trauma stories matter, that their unplanned pathways can lead to surprising places, and that fresh starts and serendipitous outcomes often end up available to us.
And then let's talk about your own personal redemption stories, the life lessons God taught you as you faced an unexpected turn of events, when your plans got swiftly altered ... or your dreams shattered.
I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten ... you will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you.
Joel 2:25 - 26
He never left us. Not for one single moment.
Linda
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I wasn't sure where you were going with the title of your blog, but the video cleared that up. The fact that it took her 6 months to work through things following her trauma and finished the chair - it didn't happen over night. Her goal of medical school also wasn't just thrown away, it just wasn't the right time. She had to get to the place where she was ready and she also learned new skills during that hiatus - also a direction for her medical future.
ReplyDeleteSome of us wait a whole lot longer to see our hopes and healing come to pass.
DeleteIt somehow makes the end result so much sweeter. Maybe because we wrestled and grieved so much along the way ...
xo
They say that I should be depressed,
ReplyDeletethat my heart should be breaking,
advice that don't have me impressed,
and this won't be my undertaking.
I think they want to see me sad
so they can be sad, right along,
and not have to play Galahad,
not have to be forever strong.
And so my jokes aren't always welcome,
my laughter strikes a painful nerve
as they witness Armageddon
lived with boundless joy and verve.
It's rude to say, "Go take a hike"
but I will die just as I like.
Doesn't it make you crazy when well-intentioned souls tell you how you should feel?
DeleteDon't do that, people!
Healing from anything traumatic takes time, and everyone heals differently. Owning grief, I've learned from the experience of losing a spouse many years ago, is the very place to start. I know I would not have gotten through this time in my life if I thought for one moment that God wasn't right there with me through it all.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Linda!
I am sorry for the death of your husband all those years ago, Martha. I appreciate the way you put it, 'owning grief.' Not living in denial or running away from, but facing the storm head on, knowing that the Lord is strong and solid and will hold us close in the messy uncertainty of it all.
DeleteThanks for sharing a tender peek into your story, friend. I feel honored you'd do that here.
Bless you ...
That video was spot on and something I hope is seen by many people. It particularly resonated with me as making has and does get me through so much of life. Thanks, Linda.
ReplyDeleteYes, Debby, you've been showing us how to do that well. I'm loving your blog in this transition season.
DeleteSometimes stepping out and doing something completely fresh and new is exactly what's needed. Our comfort zones can end up stifling the creativity and energy we need to move ahead.
Keep leading the way, friend ...
Well, it would take a while to go thoroughly into personal redemption stories that came out of unexpected trauma. Just a couple of mine: my parents were divorced when I was 15, necessitating a move from a very small town (under 200 people) to a teeming metropolis (over 1 million). With all the pain, culture shock, and changes, it took years to recover from that. Yet that was what God used to draw me to Himself, and probably what gave me the longing to have a Christian family.
ReplyDeleteA second incident occurred 24 years ago. One morning my left arm felt funny, like I'd slept on it wrong. Within 3 hours, my arm and both legs were numb and I couldn't walk. Eight days in the hospital and multitudes of tests yielded a diagnosis of transverse myelitis: a virus attacks the spine, setting off an autoimmune response in which one's own body attacks the myelin sheath around the nerves of the spine. Where it hits determines what symptoms you have. Some people end up on a ventilator or in constant pain. I was fortunate that after a few months of physical therapy, going from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane, I could walk on my own, though I still have some balance issues. There were so many evidences of God's care and help through that time. But then I started having panic attacks. Foolishly, I didn't tell anyone. I looked up ways to cope with them online and found deep, slow breathing, in through the nose, out through the mouth, my best friend next to the Bible and prayer. Just last year someone I follow on Twitter spoke about being in a horrendous accident the year before and how it still affected her even a year later (triggers and such). Some of it sounded like what I had gone through. It was then it dawned on my that I hadn't had to recover just from the illness I'd had, but from the trauma as well. In the hospital, they'd had me on Xanax. But they didn't explain why, and I didn't think to ask--I just knew I didn't want to take it and feared getting dependent on it (I think I'd heard some story about someone starting it for medical reasons and then getting addicted). I wish someone had told me why they prescribed it, and I wish I had mentioned the panic attacks. They might have been averted. But hearing this woman's story helped me put all of that together.
Dear Barbara - thank you for taking the time to share your story. As I read through them yet again, there's no doubt in my mind that what you have gone through will impact someone who somehow arrives here this week.
DeleteI am so sorry for what you've been through ... the trauma of your teen years and then this medical diagnosis, the trauma of panic attacks and their impact on you.
I am struck on the growth of your faith in the process and the clarity of the lessons you've learned.
I so appreciate the gift of vulnerability and honesty you've shared with us this weekend. Others will read this and agree with me.
Bless you, friend ...
Linda, thank you for sharing the video, very powerful. The ebb and flow of life can be difficult to navigate at best. I do love the scripture in Joel, a reminder of God’s goodness. I have found God to always be faithful in the small and big issues of life. Blessings~
ReplyDeletePam, I'm glad you're here with a testimony of God's faithfulness in life's issues, big and small.
DeleteAnd yes. Joel 2. Those verses gave me hope in my darkest hours that somehow God would redeem what I had lived through and use it to benefit others.
And He has. Over and over again.
I am so grateful ...
That's a great video, Linda. It's so true what she said about grief - "Grief isn't linear. The ebb and flow of it are just part of the process." Thank you for reminding us of the verse in Joel. It gives such hope. Yes, God will redeem what is broken in us. His wonders never cease. Love and blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteEbb and flow is a good thing. It lets us catch our breath between the onslaughts ...
DeleteI enjoyed the video very much, Linda. Thank you for sharing it. Giving ourselves time instead of pushing through the hard with work is so important (and continually learning how important as I grow older and hopefully wiser!)
ReplyDeleteI do love that grace of pulling back, taking a breath, doing something creative with our hands that breathes life into our overwhelmed brains or broken hearts ...
DeleteThis has been a year of curve balls for our family, and we are learning what trust looks like. For me, it looks like moving forward without all the information I'd like to have.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you and your porch ministry here!
Repeated curve balls coming at us from all directions can be so exhausting ... we find ourselves morphing into a high alert mode.
DeleteI hope you are ok, friend, and are somehow sensing God's faithful presence.
Praying for you right now.
Linda - Thank you for sharing the video. Grief does look so different for each of us. Sometimes it is a living grief of things which will not be restored here on earth. It is still so important to grieve these things.
ReplyDeleteI don't think their is enough room for me to share my stories. However, I will share this - I hang tight to knowing I am never alone - God is with us.. I falter sometimes when I take my eyes off of Jesus.
Blessings,
Maree
Maree, yes, you're so right. We still need permission and freedom to grieve those situations that won't be restored here on earth even while claiming the truth that someday in heaven there will be no more tears.
DeleteThank you for the gentle reminder that we are never alone. God with us - Emmanuel.
Bless you ...
The video is an important reminder that we all grieve and deal with trauma in different ways and there is no set path or timeline for healing. I love that she is going to be a woman's doctor and help other women who are facing similar situations to her. I think one of the ways God often redeems our trials is by developing empathy and compassion to help others.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, right here, Lesley --> 'I think one of the ways God often redeems our trials is by developing empathy and compassion to help others.'
DeleteI can testify to that truth.
Linda, thank you for sharing this. We do all grieve differently. My husband's father passed away unexpectedly last week, and as we begin the process of walking through grief, I'm seeing differences in how different family members are handling it. I'm so thankful some of us have the Lord to strengthen us on the hard days.
ReplyDeleteOh Jeanne, I am so sorry for this stunning, sudden loss. I am praying for peace as you each find your way through this time of shock and grief.
DeleteBless you, friend ...
I love hearing grief is not linear and we are a little worse for the wear but that's okay. Grief is a big part of my story but it's not the only thing that defines me. I know depression and anxiety but it doesn't stop there. God is the Author of my story and He is the One who pulls me through the messy and hard.
ReplyDeleteOh you said it well, friend --> 'God is the Author of my story and He is the One who pulls me through the messy and hard.'
DeleteYour words remind me of that old hymn, 'this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.'
HE is the story of our lives. With you, I'm so grateful ...