Calvin Synod Herald, 2006 (107. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2006-09-01 / 9-10. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 9 When it Rains Indoors Many of us go through life and never face a real crisis that seems to be beyond our ability to cope. The things that we consider really bad happen to others not us. Then one day we face a situation that brings deep hurt or grief and we find nowhere to turn for solace. The storms of life we have always faced so confidently have now come into the house with us; it is raining in our living space. No matter what we do this black cloud hangs over us and life itself can appear not worth the effort it takes to continue. As bad as things are however most will be able to share the burden with family, friends, or church and the holes in the roof are repaired in short order and life takes on a semblance of order again. There can be circumstances where we do not feel there is anyone we dare trust with our secret and we suffer alone in silence. For example if we belong to a church that does not allow abortion yet we find ourselves having had an abortion would leave us in such a secret place of silence and tears. Abuse by a parent, relative, or respected adult may cause the same thing. It may simply be the death of someone we love and all others seem to have gotten over it and moved on with life but we just cannot shake the grief and because they have we feel guilty and unable to share the burden. Secret hurts fester and continue to live on like a cancer eating at our very soul. Each day will find us thinking more and more we are totally alone and there is no one who can understand much less help us. This is not true and is the tool the devil would use to confuse and isolate us making the hurt ever deeper. Finding Sunshine On Cloudy days Solomon in the Bible after long thought concluded there is nothing new under the sun. He is right and we are not the first nor will we be the last person to experience this very thing and the hidden guilt or grief that comes with it. We do not live on a remote and isolated island, there are those who can understand and help, even us. Bringing the secret hurt out in the open is the first step in finding light and warmth to drive away the cold rain within our lives. The answer may be our parents or another trusted advisor. One of the professional people, counselors or pastors in our lives may be the bearer of light in this dark place since they are sworn to secrecy about anything we share with them. The classic answer for believers is giving it to Christ or God. The Way Out Of The Rain The best person is a relative or friend we trust and can talk to. If we will take the time and think about all the people in our life perhaps we can think of such a person to trust with our secret hurt. We can test our decision by sharing less important things to see if they remain with this person or not. This will help us build our trust in this person so we can bare our soul in confidence. If we cannot think of such a person that leaves us with considering the professional people we have access to. Perhaps we will need to actually seek a professional counselor. If you live in a small town like we do then perhaps you will want to seek a counselor in another city if possible so no one will know what we are doing. Giving things to Christ sounds so easy yet so few of us seem to know how to do this. We find a quiet place and verbally speak to God as if He was another person sitting beside us. We talk to God just like we would a best friend. We share our hurts and desires trusting God to make a difference. We then proceed to live the faith we profess to have in God. This is faith not denial of the circumstance. Faith is the substance of the unseen, the evidence of the things we hope for. Talk to God, He says we may cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. Last what may seem like the most silly thing we have ever heard of can bring cooling salve to the burning hurt within us. Write a letter that never gets mailed. We tell a parent or friend exactly what is happening in our lives in this letter. After a day or two we read the letter again, then destroy it. We can find that quiet place and just talk to ourselves saying out loud all these hidden thoughts and hurts. This rain within our souls only continues if it can safely remain within. The simple expression outwardly of these feelings will help us to get a handle on things and begin the healing process. Prayer works! When we do not know what to pray we can turn to the Psalms. Many of the Psalms are prayers to God by another person in one of these soul-wetting places. Take the words as your own and repeat them out loud to God as a prayer. Being able to actually say the words aloud is important, so we need to find our place of safety and quiet to do this, but as above getting things out into the open and sunlight is important to our healing. God is not a God of fear and bondage but of freedom and light. God is not a God of confusion but of a sound mind. Using these methods we too can give it to the Lord and find solace there as He enables us to continue to live life to its fullest. Dr. Chuck Baynard Clover EPC - Clover, South Carolina Calling All ‘56ers October 2006 will mark the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. We would like to take this opportunity to include stories about this historic event in the Calvin Synod Herald. If you were there or if you learned about it from your family members who were in Hungary at the time, please send us short stories, photographs, or even poetry about the 1956 Revolution. We would like to include them in our November/December issue of the Herald. Please send all submissions to CSChurchNews@aol.com.
