Somewhere along the journey from brokenness to healing.

What I see all around me is brokenness. Broken hearts, broken lives, broken families, broken dreams, broken futures…the list could go on forever. I see girls who are 14 and broken, 21 and broken, 42 and broken. Brokenness doesn't discriminate. It finds you wherever you are and often when you least expect it. It's a lie that the enemy uses to keep us beat down and hurting in the situations of life. But praise God there is healing in the brokenness. 

After quickly jotting down those words in a journal of mine back in August, I tossed them aside not sure what to add. This often happens with half thoughts that I can't seem to build on when trying to write a blog post. In August, I didn't know how important those words would be to me in December. I didn't know the extent of brokenness that would be present in my life or the lives of those around me right now.

When I woke up this morning and rushed off to work in the all too familiar "it's Monday" irritation, I didn't know that God would bring those words back to me tonight as I shared my brokenness with a close friend.

But that's the thing about God, He works on His timeline and not ours. Just like the brokenness that sets in when we least expect it, sometimes the healing begins in the same way. 

I work in a career where I deal with physical brokenness, pain, and limited function ever single day. Much like my patients, we  often want a quick fix of the problems in life. We want something to fix the pain and brokenness we feel and we want it done now. Just like my patients, we all at some point realize that isn't always reality. We realize that the brokenness that occurred in seconds leaves wounds and scars that don't quickly fade from our bodies or our memories. But that doesn't mean there can't be healing. That doesn't mean the scars have to stay forever or that the tenderness we feel in those moments today have to cause the same hurt tomorrow.

Please know this-  Jesus is the healer of the broken. He is the one saying, "take my yoke upon you for my burden is light." He is the one saying, "I don't care about your circumstances or your brokenness.  I don't care about where you've been or what you've done, I want to bring healing to your heart and life right now."  Aren't you so glad that's what God says? Aren't you so glad that he doesn't want to leave us in our brokenness? Aren't you so glad that he wants to see healing in the broken spaces of our lives and that he wants to take those broken pieces of pottery and put them back together into the beautiful vessel he created us to be? I know I am.

I know that I can't possibly overcome the broken places in my life on my own. Believe me, I've tried. I know that when I try to fix the brokenness on my own, it's often like a bandaid patch on a leaky damn. It's always a temporary fix and often causes more damage as the pressure builds and bursts through like an overwhelming flood.

When I wrote the notes on this topic several months ago, I scribbled down Naomi's name on the page. If ever there was someone who God brought healing in the midst of her circumstances, it was Naomi. But what strikes me about Naomi's story, is that her healing didn't come right away. It also didn't come without a journey back to her home.

By all earthly standards, Naomi was a broken woman. She had lost her husband and her two sons and she was living in a country that wasn't her home. She certainly didn't hide the fact that she felt God's hand had come against her. But Naomi didn't stay in Moab. She didn't stay in the place of her brokenness. Unsure of what the future would hold for her, she set out for the land of her people where she heard God had provided food. For whatever reason, Naomi took the first step towards healing of her brokenness when she set out for Judah,  whether she knew it or not.

So often, God is calling us, urging us, leading us, to make the first step on the journey to finding healing for our brokenness. What I've learned is that He very rarely removes those broken pieces in one fail swoop. Much like Naomi, we often have to walk along the journey from brokenness to healing, no matter how scary or how uncertain. God is often calling us to begin that journey sooner than we ever thought we'd be ready.

If you're like me, you make up every excuse to start the journey. If you're like me, you're often too scared of the brokenness that may lie somewhere on your path to healing. I think about Naomi and I'm glad she didn't stop half way on her journey. I'm glad that she was able to put aside the fears, insecurities, and lies of brokenness in her life. I'm glad she didn't let the fear of gossiping church ladies keep her from making the journey home to find healing for her brokenness. Aren't you?

God used Naomi's brokenness to bring Boaz as the kinsman redeemer for Ruth and Naomi. He was also apart of the lineage of Christ. Had Naomi chosen to stop half way along the journey to healing, the story today would be a lot different.

Friends, God doesn't want us to stop half way on our  journey to healing either. The road from brokenness to healing isn't always going to be easy but He wants us to trust in His plan, knowing that He is working all things for our good. I can't guarantee you that there won't be mud puddles the size of Texas somewhere alone the journey. I can't promise you that old wounds won't be opened again. But what I can promise is that there is a God that loves you enough to keep calling you home in the midst of your brokenness.  There is a God that wants to take the scars and hurts you have in life and cover them up with the His nail pierced hands. You see, those scars on His hands might be the most beautiful picture of healing we ever see. It was those scars that made a way for us to find healing in our brokenness. It was those scars that defeated death and the grave. It was those scars that reconcile all men to the Father through relationship with Him. It's those scars that bring the ultimate healing of the ultimate brokenness of sin in your lives. Aren't you glad Jesus didn't stop  halfway on His journey of brokenness to the cross?

Wherever you are, don't give up now. Don't give in to the brokenness and don't let it keep you from starting the journey to healing. Don't forget that Jesus walked the ultimate road of brokenness so that YOU might find ultimate healing in Him. He cares about where you are right now. He cares about the pain and hurt in your eyes and he cares enough to light the journey towards healing.

Let's step out together friends. Let's begin the journey towards healing. Let's live as the redeemed. Let's live in the glory of God and let's live knowing that as sons and daughters of the King of kings, we are free from the  brokenness and invited to experience healing. Don't stop half way on the journey. Don't fear what may lie ahead. Lift up your eyes and see the one who already walked the road before you. He is waiting to walk the road towards freedom and healing with you right now if you will take the first step on the journey.