Isaiah 35:4 – Say to the anxious and fearful, “Be strong and never afraid. Look, here comes your God! He is breaking through to give you victory! He comes to avenge your enemies. With divine retribution he comes to save you!”

Gratitude 687

If we believed everything we see on social media, it would be easy to think that most people have wonderful and near-perfect lives.

Truth?

They don’t.

We don’t.

I don’t.

It’s easy to slap some photos on social media and add a few lines and make our lives look ideal. Great. Fantastic.

But there is always more going on than what we see in a few pictures.

There are the hurt feelings. The disagreements. The hurt and pain.

Something has happened … and we do not understand.

Someone disappoints us. Or we let someone else down in their opinion.

We battle negative thoughts and question our actions and wonder what we could have done differently.

Please do not get me wrong. I enjoy seeing people’s photos and positive comments and affirmations and uplifting things going on in other people’s lives. It’s so important that we share this with each other.

But let’s be careful in assuming that what looks ideal and great and perfect is NOT reality. There is always something else going on in a person’s life; often things that are difficult to talk about. And so, we don’t.

There is a proper place to make ourselves vulnerable and believe me, social media is rarely the best place to do this. Yes, there are influencers and people who make a living by being vulnerable and sharing all kinds of details about their lives. But for most of us? We just are not that comfortable doing this and rightfully so. Hubby Rick and I have had plenty of discussions about whether I share too much of our lives in my writing, blogs and social media. I try to respect sharing things that are interesting while knowing there are some things that are not necessarily for public disbursement. It’s OK to keep things close to the heart.

Yet, when we hurt and feel challenged, don’t we want someone, anyone to be in our corner? And not feel so dang alone?

Absolutely.

We live in a world that is broken. It’s a world full of broken people. I have had countless conversations with people lately who express how we are becoming less tolerate of different opinions and feelings as a society. In all that has happened these last number of months, we often focus on what we want, how something affects us and less empathy for those outside of our tiny little box of my, myself and I.

We can look at all that is swirling in our individual lives, as well as our country and the world, and ask ourselves, “Where has God gone? Why isn’t God taking care of some of this? Doesn’t God care?”

While I cannot answer all of these questions, I strongly believe that God IS around. God is much bigger than all the stuff in our personal lives as well as the divisiveness we see around us. Even when we do not understand why certain things happen or why God feels very silent at times, we have not been abandoned.

God is still here.

The very wise Mother Theresa once said, “There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lost sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly, the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call and answer in extraordinary ways.”

Even when God may not seem visible or feel super close, God is bigger than our brokenness and very present with us.

We forget that God takes broken things all the time and allows glory to come out of it. A crop of grain first requires broken ground. Broken clouds burst into rain drops which allows the grain to grow. Harvested grain is broken and turned into bread. When we break bread, we feed our bodies for physical strength. Bread broken through the act of communion feeds our hearts and souls and turns us back to God. Our broken souls once again have the opportunity to discover God’s grace in our lives.

If there is some form of brokenness in our life right now, I hope you find comfort in knowing that others are suffering as well. Whether we share this with each other or not, someone you know is struggling about some broken aspect of their lives. I pray that you find someone with whom you can share your struggles and pain.

May you also cling to God’s promise of grace and hope. Out of our brokenness, we can find light and blessing and hope. It may not be immediate. It may take some time. We are not promised that every little bit of hurt will be removed. God is stronger that whatever you are facing right now. And God will walk right beside you as you navigate this journey of life, often filled with disappointment and hurt.

While God’s light may not feel totally present in your life today, God is there. I pray someone will answer God’s call to listen and be with you when your world feels very turned-upside-down. This IS how God is present with us when our hearts are breaking.

For the confidence that God can heal the broken parts of my life, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Lord God – so often, we feel like we are the only person going through a difficult time in life. Yet, there are others whose hearts are breaking as well. May we see Your ability to heal and mend our brokenness into something beautiful. May I not lose sight of You even when You feel far away. Amen.