I was reminded last night of the power in sharing the “junk” of our lives. I was doing some teaching at church, and there’s always a section in this class where I get pretty transparent and share what I’ve come to term “the year of the valley of the shadow of death” in my life. That year included rejection, betrayal, divorce, and death. It was pretty nasty. And as much as I am grateful for what God did in my life and has done since then, it’s not really that pleasant to revisit the pain.
But here’s the thing: I’m convinced that revisiting and sharing this pain is essential to the purpose for which God has called me. Check this out:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
See, during that devastating time, I was truly able to experience the “God of all comfort”. If I never spoke of that pain again, how would I ever be able to comfort anyone else with the comfort I received from Him? I never know who in the crowd might need to hear my story. And there was someone last night who did. It brings great joy to be able to encourage and bring hope to someone who is suffering.
So I will continue to share my junk. Why? Because:
· Sharing our junk makes us real people.
· Sharing our junk empowers others to persevere through theirs.
· Sharing our junk and the healing we’ve received glorifies God.
And each time I share my junk, it becomes a little more like treasure.
awesome!! :)
ReplyDelete