That’s a loaded question, right? Are you ready to heal?

Heal from what, you might ask. Your past? Your present? Your failures? Well, that’s for you to decide.

We all have scars, bruises, and cuts that we have to handle. Not all of these wounds are faults of our own. Sadly, other people can hurt us just as much, if not more. Being hurt can either move us toward healing, or it can cause us to become resentful that we got hurt in the first place. Being resentful will be our demise and ruin. Learning to identify our hurts will grant us healing and the ability to live more fully.

One thing I’ve learned through life is we have a choice whether to heal or not. The healing will not just happen over time, it will not be automatic, and it won’t always be easy or hard to get over. It is up to each individual person to determine whether they are ready to heal.

I listened to an interview with Christine Caine this week. Caine and her husband, Nick, founded The A21 Campaign which combats human trafficking. In this interview, she talked about how she didn’t think God would be able to use her until she realized that God could use her past to give others a future. No matter how many scars she had, God was still able to use her because her scars spoke to other people. Her scars gave hope to those in need.

Have you shared your scars with others? Or, are your scars hidden from others and/or from yourself?

Caine then said, “We can either reveal what we’re going through and allow God to heal that part of our lives, or we can hold on to the hurt and be less healthy than we could have been.”

Admitting we’re hurting is never easy. Showing others our weaknesses as we work through hurts and failures can be embarrassing. Admitting we’re wrong after we realized we were wrong is humbling.

Yet, in the midst of our hurts and failures, we serve a redemptive God. We serve a God that longs to heal us. We must admit our hurts and struggles in order to start the healing process.

In what areas of your life are you struggling to heal? In what areas of your life have you caused pain to others and need to humbly ask for forgiveness?

It starts with you. It starts with me.

Let’s open our hearts, eyes, and mind to the love of God. Let’s see ourselves as He sees us. Let’s see others as He sees them. Let’s all heal together in this broken world.

© 2018 Susan M. Sims

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net/m_bartosch

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