So today in my Latter Prophets lecture I was seriously challenged by the topic of discussion that occured in class: How we should help those who are hurt and suffering to move forward into a process of healing. yeah, i know, intense stuff right?!
So the lecturer focused on a reading by Walter Brueggemann (a super smart theologian) who pretty much says that the world we live in is one where people are never allowed to grieve. We don't ever give them a chance to grieve their hurts, to grieve their situations and to grieve their losses.
You see, most of the time we are concerned with this thing called 'comfort' because that's the good thing right? It's the thing that tells people that its going to be okay, that they must move on, and then whoever provides this comfort then superficially walks away giving themselves a pat on the back for having done their deed for the day. NOT COOL!
I am intensely challenged by the fact that we need to move away from this process of thought and actually walk beside somebody, allowing them to grieve, and grieving with them. The only way to truely be transformed is to allow the grieving process to occur. We need to allow an expression for hurts, we need to offer our own experiences of hurt (showing the person that we too have suffered), and then we need to offer support to them throughout this process.
Above all else, we need to remind people (and sometimes even ourselves) that Jesus has suffered too, and that through our moments of suffering and hurt, he can relate to our situations and is right beside us showing us the way forward. I really believe that this is the very thing that can cause intense healing to begin, which is really what our world today needs.
Peace and Love xxx
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