Near to the Brokenhearted

    I have had the great pleasure of hearing from many families in the last couple of weeks since launching Love Radically. Hearing their stories of loss, trauma and attachment disorders is somehow comforting and simultaneously heartbreaking. What has really struck me this week as I have listened and read parts of these long, hard journeys that these faithful followers of God have been walking is that I see several common threads among these stories. Perhaps the most heartbreaking one being that when these families were at their lowest and needed their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to help lift up their arms as Aaron and Hur did for Moses to help him prevail, they instead realized that they didn’t have anyone standing behind them.

     I believe that this happens because The Church is not informed and equipped to help hurting people well.  To weep with those who weep, as well as rejoice with those who rejoice. It’s not an either/or, it’s a both/and. We don’t have the liberty to pick and choose which things we are a part of when it comes to serving others and building community. 

     I know that there are churches who are doing this well and living it out daily, and if you know one of those churches, we would love to hear how they are serving hurting families so we can share it with others. We are better when we learn from each other. However, the global church is not meeting this deep and growing need and we must work together to remedy this.

     Worse than not having anyone show up to serve hurting people is encountering those who end up criticizing already traumatized and suffering people through advice or judgement which doesn’t come from a place of truly understanding the hurt that they’ve endured. Families who are doing their best every day to keep getting up and keep fighting the fight the Lord has laid before them need your compassion, empathy, and love. A sympathetic ear and an encouraging word will do much more to lift them up and make them feel safe, and maybe share more with you about their needs and their suffering.

     If you’re not in a hard season, praise God, and then ask Him to show you who He would have you come along side to encourage, pray for, and love on. Then lift their arms high as they continue to fight their battle.

     Moms and dads fighting the hard fights and trying not to listen to the lies of the enemy, or the neighbors, or the in-laws, or …(fill in the blank) We are praying for you. We’re praying that God would send true followers  of His to be His hands and feet for you, that He would fill your thoughts with His Truth about who you are. You are loved. We’re in this with you. You are NOT alone. We are with you. He is with you. Lean in to Him. He will never leave you nor forsake you.