There is Hope in your hurt

Man! There are some trying times aren't they? 

I know I haven't lived for an extremely long time but at almost 3 decades of life, I can assure you that I have learned what pain feels like. Physical pain, I have given birth 2 times. Mental pain, one word....college; well, I can give you two...college & military. Emotional pain, grief, failure, relationships. I bet you could line up a few words in each category as well. 

Around about March of 2020 we fell into the unfortunate event of what we call a "pandemic". What is the definition of a pandemic? A Pandemic (according to the oxford dictionary) is: (of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world. The horrible plague of Covid-19 invaded our country (and the entire world) and wreaked havoc!

Many of us experienced some level of pain in this process. I would even go so far to say ALL of us did. Whether it was battling the sickness of Covid, watching a family member or friend suffer or pass away, losing a job or money, struggling with childcare, not having the resources we needed at home because crazy people bought up all the tissue (now that one still doesn't make sense to me lol), being left alone without human interaction for long periods of time. We all faced some ounce of pain.

Some people began to lose hope. It was so easy to do. It seemed as if this horrible even had no end in sight. We are still recovering from it while being in the midst of it. Sure! the government is calling it an "endemic", the end of a pandemic, but people are still suffering. The economy is HORRIBLE. Somebody say inflation! Family members and friends are gone for good. Money is funny. Children are behind academically. Friendships are fickle. You name it! 

We could take our time to focus in on all of these circumstances, OR we can take the alternative route and focus on the HOPE. It is important to be aware of the things that are happening around us, but we don't have to focus there. We can choose to look forward to better days. We can choose to belittle our pain and give life to our healing and recovery. Take note, the most important word here is "choose". I can give you some direction on how to do that.

From a practical standpoint this looks like happy thoughts &  intentionality. Happy thoughts are thoughts and reflections that focus on those moments in your life that you felt the most joy and happiness. What are some things that make you feel happy? When was the last time you felt on top of the world? Where were you? Who were you with? Do you remember what you were wearing? What did you do? Is there a way you can recreate that moment? Or maybe you can create another happy memory? Choosing to move forward in lieu of waddling in the pain is a start to healing & recovery.

Watch this beautiful clip of "Jireh" by Elevation worship.

The Bible gives us biblical tools that align with what I just mentioned in Philippians 4:8. Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul to encourage the church in Philipi. He wanted to encourage them to have Hope and trust God in the midst of uncertainty and suffering. Doesn't that sound like what we are currently facing as a human race?

Philippians 4:8 says Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (MSG)

In short, pain is inevitable and we have all been through it. But the key is we are getting through. Have hope for the future! You've got this! We've got this, together!