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I absolutely love taking pictures of my children. I'm that mom whose SD card is maxed out all the time. I can recall a time when my daughter was around 8-months old my husband accidentally erased about 6-months of photos, if not more. I was so distraught, and the pain I felt inside was overwhelming. Every moment I had captured was gone! I cried. If you are a momma, then I know you can relate to the way my heart felt at that moment.
When I would think about it, I'd become overwhelmingly sad. Fast forward 14 years later, and it is just a distant memory. I have taken thousands of photos since, and we have millions of precious moments to savor. I no longer feel that pain but imagine this feeling amplified by a thousand. That is how many are living today. Under the weight of broken relationships, delayed dreams, and loss of the things they held dear. Their hearts are broken, and hope seems like a fairytale that cannot be reached.
I write this not as a blogger but as a woman who, as Isaiah said, is not unfamiliar with pain. Suffering, grief, pain, and trouble are part of this life, but it isn't the only part. I shared, a minuscule story of loss, but that in no way comes close to the things others all over have gone through. Those people are on my heart! The ones who smile during the day, but cry rivers at night. The ones who feel alone in crowded rooms. Those who have lost so much, they've lost their identity in the pain they've sustained.
What do you do when you've taken more losses than wins? How do you go on when the pain of what you lost is a lasting lingering feeling you can't seem to shake? What do you do when the memories of what was keeps you up at night? How do you live in your new normal?
This article is not a one-and-done fix-all in your life, but I pray that these following words will encourage you and strengthen your faith to overcome the trials of life.
Tell God All About It
Pour out your heart before our Father. He knows, but as a good Father, He desires you to bring everything to him. He is concerned with everything that involves you. Whether it was your fault or not, God cares and wants to carry the weight for you. He is not a fictional character - God is real and his ears are not deaf to your cries. Just as a mother comes to comfort her crying baby, even more so does God, the Father!
In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy, he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.- Isaiah 63:9
Invite God into Your Healing Process
God stands at the door and knocks; it is up to you to let him in! You can't get healed on your own the pain, grief, trauma, and loss will consume you if you don't allow God to heal you. Healing is the Father's will for his children! Do you remember when Jesus met the lame pain who was sick for years? He asked the man do you want to be healed?
I believe the Holy Spirit led you here to ask you that question - Do you want to be healed? Or do you want to hold on to the things you can't change? If you want to be healed, let Him into the ugly, dirty, stinky parts of your life. God is not detoured by your mess. He knows you have been stuck for a long time, but this time is different. He has come just for you!
When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” - John 5:6
Receive By Faith
Healing and wholeness is a process, and those feelings of loss and grief have a way of creeping back in. It is okay. Stand firm in faith believing, that whom the Son has set free is free indeed. The thoughts of what you lost may come, but you will not be overwhelmed. You may feel the grief, but you are not consumed. The memories of trauma by being triggered, but you will not be overthrown.
Live
You are a survivor! You have not come this far to throw in the towel. Now you must thrive! Christ gave His life so you could have life and life to the full! Live that life out daily. Choose to keep putting one foot in front of the other. One prayer at a time, one declaration at a time.