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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Hope for the Hurting

Despite my desperation every now and then for having this upbringing, having this kind of mother, how those resulted in how disadvantaged I am now...  I still think that...  there are a lot of things to be grateful about by being me  =)   

As friends put it, I'm too 'soft' and could be easily manipulated.  I can't read people.  I'm not 'sharp' to notice the false and pretense in people. And many other weaknesses  :(

Again, I still think that there's something to be thankful for...  I think my upbringing enables me to relate well with people, or as my ex-boss puts it, I make new connections smoothly.  Uummm... an ex-colleague, he's a School Counselor, says that I'm with EQ  :)   

Last Sunday I noticed how true enough it is, that in every pew sits a broken heart.  Not that she's full of hatred or she's rude... but... being a woman, a mother, a wife, a friend of mine definitely has her own wounds... and how the masks she puts on may not reveal those pains. 

I've met and dealt with some tougher cases since I came to SG some 6 years ago.  Even my Indonesian friends are proven to be a different kind of people as they spent many years living here...  very practical, less personal, and... (I'm afraid) legalistic  :(  But, I think, still, they're better than of similar cases I found in my local friends.

None of us is immune to physicall illness, deaths of our loved ones, unemployment, divorces, and the list of other adversities in life certainly does not stop there.   People who sit in the pews next to you on Sundays may suffer from one or several of these sufferings and yet... we fail to recognize the wounded hearts. 

In the world that requires us to be more and more independent, instantaneous, we put on some 'masks' that could conceal our pains -- people see us as how we picture ourselves to the outer world (we could show them how strong we are, cheerful as we may be) yet we know that we're wounded in the inside.  

It must be for a reason, God, that you put me in this family, with this kind of upbringing... where I had the privilege growing up with PDA (public display of affection... hahahaha) as my parents hug and kiss me even in public, I talk to my parents about my life, my friends... I grew up with gifts, etc.   I think You are using that background of mine to be sensitive in relating with people, I think it makes me more understanding than most people...  Yet help me not to get carried away with the stream of hectic life; grant me the courage to leave my comfort zone, so I could be sensitive to those wounded and be strong as they may hurt me (and I hurt them) when I try to reach out to them...





         

3 comments:

VD said...

Beth, ada bukuny? Boleh pinjem gak? hehehe...:P

Thanks kalo boleh :D

Beth said...

Hi, VD :) Thx buat komen kamu. Sori,gak punya bukunya. Hahaha. Tp pernah beliin buat orang, deh, kl ga salah ;p

Jonah said...

Know that the pain that God has allowed to enter into your life is for your betterment. Romans 8:28 says that "all things work togther for good to those who love God"

All means all. Nothing excluded.

What you are going through, what God has put in your life to overcome could be the basis for your own ministry. What you have struggled though and saught God about allows you now to counsel others with the same problem.

Pray to God to send you the Holy Ghost. Pray for a discerning spirit so you may know those you are called to.

Jesus says in the Bible that "i will send you another comforter" a comforter can be defined also as a counselor. Let God counsel you as to how far you need to go. How much of yourself to give to the world and how much to give to Him. God has to be number one before He will allow you to have anyone or anything else.

Reaffirm your faith!
God does not want you to suffer under yokes and burdens but will do so until you have grown to the place He wants you to be.

I pray for love and peace in your life. Strive after God.
Amen.