Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Letting the brokenness fall


I've felt a weight of brokenness over my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a broken family. I felt like a broken kid. As a teenager my brokenness oozed out in all sort of ways that led to many dysfunctional relationships. I didn't know how to not feel broken. And some days, if I'm honest, that's still true. 

Lately something has been stirring in my heart, maybe you could call a righteous discontentment. It's a discontentment towards hiding. Because we're really good at that aren't we? Especially if you run in Christian circles or even if you just go to church on Sundays it's probably no surprise to you that most of us aren't very good at sharing our junk. (In your defense and mine, the Church hasn't always been the most safe place to share hard stuff.) And I'm not talking about everyone everywhere needing to know your deepest darkest secrets. I'm talking about the closest people in your life, the ones who really KNOW you, letting them actually know you. 

Maybe it looks like letting them know you're depressed. 
Or letting them know you've been looking at pornography. 
Or letting them know you've been thinking about divorce. 
Or letting them know you've been feeling lonely. 
Or letting them know you've been drinking too much. 
Or letting them know you've been holding on to anger towards someone. 
Or letting them know you've been overeating and you feel ashamed. 

The list could go on and on. We all carry some weight or brokenness because well, we're broken people living in a broken world. But the good news is it's not ours to carry. Jesus has already carried it to the cross for us.

Lately, I've experience in my own life that when I speak out loud the brokenness I feel bearing down on me, the shame begins to fall. Our sin and our brokenness will only stay hidden unless we bring it in to the light. If you've tried sharing your heart with someone and it didn't well, I'm sorry. Can I encourage you to try again? I'm here and ready to listen. And can I also encourage you to seek help? I'm a huge advocate for professional counseling and there's absolutely no shame in admitting that you need help. Friends, this life is TOO SHORT for us to carry around weight that we're not meant to carry. It's time to lay it down. Let's do it together.