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Has a long season of mourning, hurting, sickness, or loss left you feeling empty?  Does it seem like you should be getting better, but you’re not?  Are you asking yourself, “When will it stop hurting?”

This is for my friends walking through a season of hurting they don’t understand…

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As she lifted her head from praying, she couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.  Why couldn’t she heal?  Why couldn’t she shake this feeling of being in a dark pit?  She is God’s girl after all, one of His Chosen, His Beloved.  Christians aren’t supposed to stay sad, right?  She was told by well meaning friends to “give it to God and leave it there” and “not dwell on the past”.

She tried but couldn’t seem to pull herself out of the sadness and hurt.  Where had her energy gone?  What is her purpose now?  When would she stop hurting?

In her mind, she felt like a dormant, flowering plant waiting for spring, buried deep in the earth in the harshness of winter.  It seemed that the sun greedily refused to share the joy of its warmth.  She could barely remember the feel of its glory on her face on a summer day.  Summer wasn’t that long ago, when she reached to Heaven with her beautiful flowers, singing and dancing in the warm breeze with life.

She treasured the days when rain fell to nourish the rich soil while she blossomed.  Butterflies fluttered around her, hummingbirds hummed about in their splendor, and bees came to enjoy her flowers.

It was a glorious season because God created her to bloom, right?  Now those happy days were only a memory.

The winds changed suddenly.  They howled and ripped at her leaves.  The cold harshness of winter came.  The colorful flowers that once bloomed brightly, withered and shriveled up.  They turned brown and became useless to anyone; the leaves gave up trying, and shrank down to the ground.

Slowly, the blossoms fell and she began to crumble and fade.  There was such pain in this season, a feeling of empty nothingness. She felt as if she would never lift her head again.

The pain of this season would surely kill her.

How could her Creator allow this?  She was His favorite after all.  She was blessed, His Beloved.  Where was He now?

She wept with a yearning to go back and re-capture those precious times.  Longing to hold them tight and not let go.  She was afraid the memories would vanish as if they never happened.  She couldn’t allow that so she replayed them over and over in her mind no matter how much it hurt.

The winter lingered longer than usual.  She kept waiting for the warmth of the sunshine to tell her it was time for the renewal of a fresh season to bloom and grow but it wouldn’t come.  So, she waited, held tucked against the Creator.  Even though He continued to nourish, love, and protect her from the bitterness of winter, in her mind all she could feel was the cold obscurity of waiting.

Unbeknownst to her, as her tears fell from the pain and grief, they watered the ground (Psalm 126:5-6).  She couldn’t even imagine the fresh new season of dancing and singing prepared for her by the Creator.

When hopelessness seemed to be the only feeling she had left, something began to stir within her.  It was so faint, she wasn’t sure if it was only her imagination.  Then there it was, a gentle whisper.  Her wounded heart had given up on ever feeling joy again… then she heard it.  It wasn’t her imagination!

Slowly, she heard the Creator’s call for her to reach out and feel the stirring of new life.

That quiet, soothing voice deep in her soul.  Her heart leapt within her and His life song began to heal what she thought was forever broken.  It was different from the past but wonderful all the same.  With His help, she reached into the warmth to break free of the cold darkness of winter.

Once again, she felt the yearning to shake off the restraints that had held her captive for so long.  She had been a sleepwalker, only moving through each day to survive, not feeling anything.  Now, like a choir of angels echoing in the soft breeze, she began to feel the Creator help her live once again.

Keep praying and spending time with Him even when your prayers feel like they are hitting the ceiling, He hears you and will answer in His time.  Trust Him and allow Him to heal you.  God loves you and joy will come in time.

There will be dancing again.  This is only a season.  Rest in Him.  Let Him whisper words of love over you.  Mourning and grieving is part of life.  None of us will escape it.

But don’t leave God out of your grief.  If you don’t feel better soon, find a Christian counselor and get some help.

There is a season for everything.  This isn’t a time of nothingness.  It is a time of healing.  God will restore you in His time.  We are not meant to understand everything right now.  While you wait, pray and listen.  Here is another post I wrote called, “What Do You Do When God is Quiet,” about waiting that may help.

Though it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.  It will not be delayed. Habakkuk 2:3 (NLT)

God’s not done.  Singing and blossoming will come again.  The sun will shine for you again.  This devotional by Bonnie Gray called “Whispers of Rest” was helpful to me when I was in a season of hurting.

Spring will come soon.

I love you dear friend,

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