Blog 2307 – 02.16.2022

Sorely Tried, Well, Be Strong And Hold On

When a loved one is sorely tried, in obvious pain, and seems to be losing the battle and we feel completely at a loss and powerless to help them and are sorely tempted to run away or to join them and also be swept up in the vacuum of their despair, we can even find ourselves beginning to mimic the symptoms of their malady or delusion. We need to hold on and be strong.

For our own sakes and theirs we must hold on and be strong so that when they are able to reach out we will be there for them. I believe that I see a lesson in the Bible accounts of Jesus healing miracles. Love, and by that I do not mean romantic, erotic, or family love, but the highest expression of love, the all accepting, never judgmental, and never condemning godly love. Only love that great has the power to reach through all the pain, disorientation, and confusion and heal completely from the inside out.

Love and Jesus’ secret to healing is one and the same, they see us always no matter our outward appearance, circumstances, or behavior as holy, and whole. And they hold on to that image of us till it becomes a reality for us as well.

But, you say, people get sick and die everywhere and every day. Yes, for all appearances that is true, but is that really the end of their story or ours? I think not. Love believes in happy endings and as the saying goes, “If all is not well, whole, and happy, it is not the end of the story yet.” I might have modified the words to that ole saying a bit, but I think I still got the gist of it right, which is that we just have to hold on and stay strong till the answer and the true happy ending comes.

In one place the Apostle Paul warns about giving in or giving up before reaching the goal, the happy ending. I close this piece with one more saying that though it may sound like a cliché I still believe to be true: “I have held many thing in my hands and lost them all, but all I have put into higher, better, stronger hands, I still possess.” So let us all hold on to that hand alone that can pull us out of the dark night of helplessness, hurting, and denial into the bright light of day where we too can see ourselves always holy and whole.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19CDkk3iq8QB_Ccty1QLes7I1EQ0_K7cX/view?usp=drivesdk

No Night So Long