Broken stories heal
Be careful of this person we call Jesus. To know Him, pursue Him, love Him, enjoy Him will lead you to a place where you will experience some measure of heart ache. Not because Jesus disappoints…on the contrary, He is everything He claims to be. But to know Him is to know His heart…and His heart is heavy for people swimming in hurt and sorrow. And He invites you to venture into the sea of other people’s pain so that you can join Him in serving others on their journey towards healing.
But often people don’t want healing, they want pain relief.
And that’s when frustration can settle in. Healing is hard. Pain relief is easy. People who want relief will sacrifice long term health for respite. And thats where your story comes in.
If you have experienced God’s forgiveness, healing, peace, love, joy, grace, mercy…then you have a story that can be a guiding light in the darkness of troubled times. Your true story can be a source of comfort to those who are hurting. It gives the Holy Spirit the chance to whisper into the broken heart of a person paralyzed by trouble, “I did it in them, I’m doing it in you. Let Me move with the same strength and power in your heart so that I might bind the wounds that are keeping you from experiencing My best.”
But you have to share your story. And not the Disney version. The real version. The messy version. The unresolved but hopeful version.
If you have a friend going through difficult times, then offer to buy them coffee and simply ask, “Can I tell you how God met me in my darkness?”
You don’t have to make it relevant to their life, i.e. connect the dots. God will do that. But you have to put the dots out there.
4 comments
Milo, once again you cut to the heart of an issue. While we were at Pathway, I pretty much gave only part of my story to anyone. I did that because I couldn’t see anything beautiful in my past. I saw pain and regret. I really didn’t see how sharing my story could help anyone. So, you may ask the question, “what about now or has that changed?” I had lunch, not long after you guys moved, with a friend and for some reason that is the day that I shared my whole story with someone. This person listened and when I was finished she simply said, “what a beautiful story.” Obviously I thought she was nuts but she explained how all of that pain and regret shaped me to be the person I am today and how God watched over Carmen during that time and protected her. So, since then I no longer am afraid to share the truth of my story if God gives me the opportunity. I now can see how another person facing the same situation might find hope in hearing how God met me in all of my darkest hours. So, thanks again Milo for that reminder today. Our family misses you guys and pray for you often.
- Jan
@ Jan. Thanks for chiming in. It thrills me to know that you took the step to share your story with someone. Your friend is right, you do have a beautiful story and I’m glad to be a friend who has experienced some of it with you.
Give our love to the family.
I have been learning about this this year. Traveling around the world, and seeing the most broken people, has made me realize how much we all have in common. I am just a broken person too… only Jesus has made me whole. And there have been so many times this year where I have been able to share my broken story, to prostitutes, street children, orphans, and random people on the street. And it has been amazing to see the way that God has used it to comfort or speak to each person.
Aaahh yes, and there is such freedom in sharing our stories…again, great blog!