Rebuilding Ater Heartbreak

   “Rebuilding after loss comes by laying the broken pieces at the Lord’s feet and allowing Him to put back together what was shattered” -Rebuilding After Heartbreak / by SonRise Church and Ministries

   Have you ever found yourself sitting alone, the pain of loss heavy in the room, wondering…how am I ever going to move on from this? How will I ever be the same? Where do I start, and when do I start to recover and rebuild myself?

   Maybe you’re looking at your life, at the plans you had, the memories you were eager to make, the person you were ready to grow into and are struggling to come to terms with those very things having slipped from your grasp. Or maybe you’re numb. You know you should feel a certain way…right? But it’s almost like there’s a shroud over your heart. You feel a stir here, a flicker of pain there, but can’t seem to manage uncovering the vastness of your feelings.

   God sees you, dear friend.

   And while you’re sitting here, wondering how you’re going to rebuild your trust, your life, your hope again, the Lord is near to you; sitting with you in it. He has already made a way through, and it isn’t by your own strength.

   It isn’t by pulling your bootstraps up and forcing yourself to be alright.

   Not only that, but God doesn’t expect you to put yourself together at all. Because rebuilding after loss comes by laying the broken pieces at the Lord’s feet and allowing Him to put back together what was shattered. Though it certainly may feel like it, the responsibility to mend what has been broken doesn’t fall on you, but is carefully held and tended to by our Heavenly Father, who intimately knows you, your needs, and how to lead and guide you.

   “So, what am I supposed to do then?”

   When it comes to healing a broken heart, the process takes time. Time we have been called to press into the Lord amidst. And, no…God isn’t asking you to press into Him and His promises as a way of discounting the loss you’re feeling. He never discounts it. He isn’t asking you to have prettily strung words or even have the words to say right now. He isn’t asking you to force yourself through your days with a smile on your face, or to pretend in your prayers, bible studies, or with loved ones that everything’s fine. The pain is significant, the sorrow deep, and He sees that. It hurts Him too. He isn’t calling you into a false sense of wellbeing, but rather endeavors to usher you into deeper, more intimate understanding and love with Him amidst the suffering by choosing Him, His word, and His promises despite it all so that you may grow in your love and faith and be healed and restored. Because though the pain is significant, and sorrow deep, His love is greater, His restoration deeper than any wound that can be inflicted.

   So, what does pressing into Him look like in the midst of suffering?

   It is clinging to Him, as the sustainer and provision for all our needs. It is bringing the pain to Him, repeatedly, and meditating on the truth despite it all. It is humbly asking Him to help you to believe and receive the truth and His promises for you and your life, especially when they seem so far away or even feel ripped away. And when the enemy aims to capture and influence your mind and heart, it is in leaning on the Lord that we can then see clearly and rebuke the lies and dismantle His attacks against us.

   Even if spending time in His presence looks like it’s simply sitting, not a word spoken, there is grace and provision even here, for “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26). God knew we would be in need of someone to articulate the words and cries of our hearts amidst great pain because He loves and cares for you.

   You are not alone, dear friend; and while you might be sitting in the silence of loss, in the ashes of what once was or was supposed to be, take comfort in the truth that Jesus is sitting right there with you. You have not been forgotten; you are not alone.

   And this pain will not have the final say. You will not be left broken.