I realized the other day that I hadn’t shared from my journals in a long time. As I paged through them, I was blessed at all the things that I wrote down. It’s amazing how alive God’s Word is. I love how verses spoke to me one way then and they minister to my heart in a different way today.

This post comes from a writing exercise I did quite awhile ago. The prompt was a Henry Ford quote and I had to write whatever came to mind for 10 minutes without stopping. I edited it as I typed, but here it is.

“A setback is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”

Henry Ford

Setbacks come to us when we least expect them. We believe life is progressing smoothly and then suddenly we crash into bumps we never knew existed. The impact so hard, our breath is gone.

After the bump, we sit on the road breathless, unable to think or move or get up. Bumped, bruised, shaken, we fear the act of standing. We fear we will never breathe freely again–never stop hurting.

The fog clouds our minds. Clear thought impossible.

To wallow in our wounds–to lie down on the road– such a strong temptation. But somewhere in the hurt, somewhere in the fog, we understand that lying on the road wallowing in our grief brings danger.

We need to feel light again–to love again, to think clearly, to touch other lives, to live a life of purpose. Someday, we will meet others who need our tender understanding of this pain, hurt, and confusion. And so stiffly and in pain, we rise from our grief. Bruises and scars hurt for so long, but simply in the act of standing we are strengthened.

We realize that our will alone won’t heal. In our pain and hurt, we reach out for God’s hand. We hold onto him and he picks us up. His strength allows us to take the first steps. His love envelops us allowing clear thought. Breath flows easily and  constant thoughts of failure give way to the knowledge that with God all things are possible.

We resume our lives. We live, love, and extend our understanding of pain to those we meet.

Once we thought living impossible, but we carve out a new life. Purpose and love replace fog and pain.

More importantly than starting over intelligently, we start over with the knowledge that our pain and loss makes us real. We realize that because we  stood in God’s strength we have purpose.

This experience of hurt, pain, and fear impels us to love others and to understand.

When we see others lying on the road struggling to rise from their setback, we extend God’s love to them. We hold out our hands and say,
“Get up. It will be ok. God’s strength is sufficient. You can do this. Look at me!”

Filed under: Enduring Trials, From my Journal | 5 Thoughts Shared »