Pain is real. It can be raw and relentless. It sends us a message. Often that we have been wronged or hurt by someone we care about and someone we trusted. Hurt by someone who we thought in turn was supposed to care for us as well. It could also perhaps even be people who are just unkind and spiteful.That raw pain can also hit from a loss. A death of someone we love. Division of the family, the pain from a divorce, financial devastation. Brokenness from pain can come wrapped in many packages and look many different ways. But the bottom line is it hurts. The pain can take your breath away.
I remember many conversations with my Mom during her cancer journey about those raw places of pain. Pain happens. It is what we do with it that can make or break the future. Will we bury it? Pretend it doesn’t exist? Will it cause anger, distance, or cause us to become defensive? It can truly lead one to a life without joy, and carrying a burden that was not ours to carry in the first place. If we hang onto the pain it can literally become a weapon. A weapon that can cause destruction.
I remember my walks with Mom. We had a sidewalk we would walk down, and I happened to walk down that very sidewalk this week. I noticed something different about that sidewalk though. It was broken almost to the point of no repair, by one little crack that turned into a huge crack. I saw where a blade of grass grew inside the cracks and eventually caused the block of sidewalk to break in half. One little crack was all it took.
I walked over that cracked sidewalk and immediately saw that one crack and that one blade of grass as one little hurt in life. One little offense that grew to a bigger offense. And without repair, the cracks took over. And in those cracks, pain and unforgiveness grew. Only to crush a soul and to break a heart. It’s amazing how something small can grow into something so destructive. Have you ever held onto an offense and a hurt that started small but then led to something beyond what you imagined? How do you fix it?
Forgiveness repairs. Serving repairs. Releasing and stepping out of isolation repairs. God repairs. He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. Psalms 147:4. Holding on hinders the healing process. God doesn’t want you to fight this battle of hurt and unforgiveness alone. He wants you free. It’s His battle to fight but first you have to hand it over.
Giving God your pain first begins with acknowledging it is there. I love to journal and my gratitude journal and my prayer closet have been a life saver when it comes to 
working out my forgiveness and hurts. I journal about it. I read scripture about it, I pray about it, and find things to be thankful for even in those hurtful moments. And eventually I am praying for the ones who hurt me. I am letting go of the offense and letting God deal with their issues. Not me. It’s not my battle, it’s His. And I thank God that He has a great plan and it never fails there are many teachable moments waiting. And those teachable moments prepare for the “great stuff” ahead. Many times those lessons are needed to get to the next season He has waiting! A wonderful season! Your extreme pain is Gods opportunity to take that situation and work it for your good. And He will.
working out my forgiveness and hurts. I journal about it. I read scripture about it, I pray about it, and find things to be thankful for even in those hurtful moments. And eventually I am praying for the ones who hurt me. I am letting go of the offense and letting God deal with their issues. Not me. It’s not my battle, it’s His. And I thank God that He has a great plan and it never fails there are many teachable moments waiting. And those teachable moments prepare for the “great stuff” ahead. Many times those lessons are needed to get to the next season He has waiting! A wonderful season! Your extreme pain is Gods opportunity to take that situation and work it for your good. And He will.The most exciting part is the freedom, peace, and joy that awaits when you release it all. He wants to transform your pain into something amazing, but you won’t experience it if you hold onto it. He’s waiting. He won’t let you down.
Let go. He’s got you.