Dancing in the Light

I John 1:7 "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Name:
Location: North Platte, Nebraska, United States

I am a christian wife, mother and grandmother. I am a licensed Social worker and a licensed Christian counselor. I am most proud of the relationships I have with God, my family and friends all over the world. I have been blessed beyond my dreams.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Intentional Healing, Deliberate Growth

I have been thinking about this post for a long long time--or at least the concept of it. There are few if any, people in the world who have not been wounded or hurt at one time or another. Onc can scarcely make it into adulthood without the typical teenage woes and wounds. And as adults, we have family baggage, work conflicts, marriage issues, and general life struggles. Each have the potential to harm us and stunt our spiritual or emotional growth. Most of us encounter daily struggles of a minimal sort--the vacuum cleaner broke, we had a flat tire, we were volunteered for a bake sale that starts at 6 am tomorrow!!!! You know the struggles, I am talking about--the ones that make up this crazy thing we call "LIFE". The minimal and daily trials are not the ones that derail us---we are most often able to just deal with the problem and get on with life. Growing and maturing in spite of the trouble, almost as if growing by accident.
And then there are the big things, the ones that are mountains in the road rather than rocks. These are more than stumbling blocks, they are backbreaking, relationship ruining, esteem destroying, life changing crises! They leave us battered and scarred and worse for the wear, tired and fatigued, emotionally drained and empty. They are the unfaithful spouse, the loss of a child, the ravaged mind of a parent with dementia, the tornado, hurricane, flood and fire. They are the events that bankrupt our spirits and our very souls. We don't bounce back from these as easily or accidentally as we do from the little day-to-day trials. These struggles call for us to do some emotional and spiritual work. It is during this dark time that we hit our knees and as we wipe the tears from our eyes, we cry out in anguish to the God of heaven, begging for reprieve, comfort and strength. As the weeping subsides, we dust off our pantlegs and stand, albeit on shaky legs, we stand. And right there, we decide to move on. We resolve to heal and grow in spite of the circumstances. We begin to plan the course of action that will help us heal. That plan may include counseling, prayer, medications or even work. The plan requires action and determination. The epiphany made so clear in the darkest of times is that this healing will not just happen. We will not be able to glide into wholeness. We will have to work at it if we are to find our way out of despair. And find our way out, we do. And years later when the sun is once again visible in our lives, we look back in amazement--marvelling at where we were and how far we've come.
It seems this same thing would apply to churches that have undergone some serious spiritual struggles, like the adultery of the preacher, a split, loss of an eldership or any other major crisis that can wound and threaten to destroy a congregation. The congregation has to make a conscious decision to heal through their disappointment and shame, or rather in spite of it. Licking our wounds might feel good but it does not help us grow. It moves us no further down the road. I know, as I am sure you do, of many congregations who suffer a loss and then never grow again, the life of the church is like a body on life support, no reactions, no responses and no interactions and therefore little hope. And the brethren dwindle away and gradually die or move until they are taken off life support to die, (this is when the last little old man turns off the lights for the final time and locks the door, leaving the community with no congregation of the Lord's body).
Whether individually or congregationally, wounds and trials can stunt our growth and when we do not grow, we die. We must decide to heal, and resolve to grow. There is no other option if we are to survive. God is good and once our healing becomes intentional and our growth deliberate, He will breath life into our tired body, He will bind up our wounds, carry our burdens, and comfort our souls. With His touch, we will survive and we will live.

Blessings,
Neva

22 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! Cool post, neva.
Hope this means you are back blogging on a regular basis?

Pat

10:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So true!


Rachel

12:23 AM  
Blogger XclusivelyHisOwn said...

Wonderfully put! (Especially the parts about: "you wont glide into healing, you gotta work through it" & "Licking your wounds feels good, but wont help you grow.." Gosh, what a visual I got there!

Love your honesty and openness in blogging.

Loved how you acknowledged God's goodness despite our baggage, hurts and letdowns. Wow. Now there's something to think about.

5:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent post! You are spot on and as a minister, my challenge is working with people to get them to decide they want to heal and grow. Great post!

Carlos

7:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent post! You are spot on and as a minister, my challenge is working with people to get them to decide they want to heal and grow. Great post!

Carlos

7:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent post! You are spot on and as a minister, my challenge is working with people to get them to decide they want to heal and grow. Great post!

Carlos

7:39 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is right--we wallow in our pain and try to suck everyone else in, but the healing for big things takes place when we decide to get up and get on with it. Sometimes we need our friends to give us a hand but we still have to decide to get better. Great thoughts, today Neva

Dan

3:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the part about Jesus breathing life into our body. I remember hearing you speak about feeling emotionally and spiritually dead after Eddie died and I will never forget when you said, "I am so thankful I worship a God who can resurrect teh dead". It touched me then, and even reading it now, I am still touched. I know how deliberately you set about healing and how you worked so hard to let God make something good out of your pain. Your message and your example are so inspirational. I am forever grateful that God allowed our paths to cross.
love ya
Kel

10:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great title! Great blog post!

Carol

10:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Neva,
I like the way you think! Keep up the good work.

Jarrod

11:05 AM  
Blogger Keith Davis said...

Neva, When God decides to touch our lives in a special way, He can do that in some very unexpected ways. You r blog has touched my life in a very special way today. It could not have come at a better time for our family. Thanks for allowing God to inspire you in this way.

1:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You rock!


Pam

3:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree totally, but sometimes finding the energy to make the decision to heal--it really takes all you have to make that decision; it is worth it but difficult and the healing and growth God provides is oh so sweet. Thank you for this post.

In Him
Corinne

7:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love this idea--I am thinking about it seriously.

Pam

1:00 PM  
Blogger Donna G said...

Wonderful thoughts. As I am watching way too many churches die off I see the absolute truth in what you say. We must realize God can and WILL heal all our wounds if we will just quit covering them up.

1:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Neva,

How wonderful to hear your words again, especially the words of this post.
First, thank yhou for all of your prayers. They have not gone unnoticed,and have been an encouragement many times.

I thoroughly enjoyed this post and what it had to say to our hurting hearts. One thing that you mentioned (hurricanes)had me remembering the shots from the TV where folks were in distress and their lives had been turned upside down from these happenstance events. What a tragedy, especially for those with no hope in their lives. Then, the picture of those who would voice that they had lost much, but they were sure that God would take care of them, helped me to see that the healing afterward is so much easier if we have been seeing the physician all along, beforehand, and trusted in Him.
Churches, need to focus on the healing before it is needed, and not on the worldly aspect of the church. Our focus, as God's people, should always be GOD! We should try to see all things through His eyes. Hopefully, this will keep us from the brink, when disaster strikes.

10:05 AM  
Blogger Liz Moore said...

Beautiful post! Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts. Blessings!

4:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How are you doing Neva?

Miss reading your posts!

4:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amen! blessings, cindy

9:35 AM  
Anonymous Tucker said...

Ok, I think it's time for your return! Hope you are feeling better and the world needs to hear your amazing God filled story. I'll check back later next week for a posting!

God Bless you My Sister!

11:38 PM  
Blogger Candle (C & L) said...

Neva - Just came by after a long absence - as usual your posts are "home runs" -- Thanks for the prayers they are needed.

God Bless
Charlie

7:38 AM  
Blogger Allie in AZ said...

You don't know me, but I just found your blog last week and love reading your posts. I cannot tell you how much this post resonated with me and applied to my congregation's vitality for the last few years. Satan attacked and we let him keep a stronghold through our egos and quests to be seen as "right" or as the "aggrieved." You crystallized so many thoughts and emotions that I'd expereinced in the last few years. By the time I saw this post, I was already on the mend and on the road back to full spiritual health, but I feel that I need to print this off and put it on my fridge to remind me of the work and perseverance that I need to exert daily to battle satan, who is still trying to conquer me. He is hacked that God can claim victory in all of this pain and destruction, and I know he is circling us still trying to find a chink in our armor.

Bless you for writing such eloquent and applicable and inspiring posts.

Sincerely,
Allie in AZ

7:03 PM  

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