Healing Is a Process


Healing cannot be rushed anymore than I can speed up the growth of a flower. No matter how much I try to encourage a flower to grow I cannot make it grow at a faster rate.

Healing is a process that is different for everyone. Each time I am faced with a healing process I get upset. Even though I'm never quite sure how long it will take I'm sure it's not fast enough.

The issues become about timing, deadlines, and who we trust.

Let me address timing first. It seems that in life an illness or disaster of some kind always comes at the wrong time. I remember getting really ill one time right before an important performance at Christmas time. The timing was terrible. And, there was absolutely nothing I could have done to get myself well in time for the performance. I ended up performing even though I was incredibly ill. The reasons for doing so are interesting. Why I got so impatient about my healing process that I would further jeopardize my health by performing could be a topic for another day. Bottom line is that illness and difficult circumstances often cannot be predicted or anticipated.

Allow me now to discuss deadlines. What I'm talking about is the thought in my mind that there is a deadline for healing. It is the belief that by a certain date and time that we should be healed. I can tell you is that in certain areas of my life I am still healing from situations in my past. And, I can tell you without any reservation that I part of me believes that I should have healed from them years ago. What is that about? Why would I insist on adhering to a certain timeline to have things resolved? And, who imposed these deadlines? In regards to the latter question it is usually me.

The deeper issue that I wish to write about here is that of trust. It is about who I ultimately trust in regards to the timing of my healing. Do I often feel like my Creator does not understand that I have better things to do with my life rather than spend time healing from something?  Yes. Somewhere inside of my mind I must believe that there was some plan (that of course I devised) that God is for some reason ignoring.

 What are some solutions?  Here are a few that I believe will move us towards being a little more patient with whatever healing process we are currently engaged in:

1. The timing of my healing is absolutely not up to me. I can help make the healing possible by resting, being good to myself, and by saying life affirming things to myself. But, when that healing decides to take place is not up to me.
2. There is no deadline. Usually. Now, if you are a skier, and you have a competition coming up soon then you have a deadline to get your knee healed. And, even if there is a deadline your body or mind may not agree with it.
3. Trusting the process of healing takes time. This matter of trust is not something that happens right away. I believe it is earned through lots of experience. The longer that I am on the planet the more I am learning that things are actually in Divine order all the time. This doesn't mean I always agree with it. It just means that I'm understanding that there is a plan.

If you are in a healing process please know that you are not alone in your struggle with wanting it to be over yesterday. This is what life is about. We will always be in a state of healing from something. It's sure nice to know that we are not alone. And, it's nice to know that people generally are not expecting us to suddenly be healed. I do believe in healing. I also believe in restoration from painful circumstances. It just doesn't happen overnight, and it usually doesn't happen when we want it to. But, it does happen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You Deserve To Be Supported

The pr ocess of writing my book has been so interesting. So many opportunities for me to look at myself and the way that I approach things. One of the most interesting opportunities is the one around the ability to say that I don't understand something. This brings me to what I wanted to  write about here.  That is this false belief that I should be able to know something before I know it. Yes, I read that sentence and say that doesn't even make sense. But, how many of us have taken on a project thinking we should not be able to ask questions about it? It's like the person  (not that I have even done this:) who gets lost driving, but refuses to ask for directions. Truth is our GPS takes care of that most of the time, but there are still times we need to ask.  If the goal of doing a project is to get it done is to get it done, it just makes sense to ask questions. Right? Well, the inability to ask questions usually stems from deeper issues that cannot be just logica
Read more

Balancing the Need For Risk With the Need For Security

We as a society are always looking to something outside of ourselves to fix us. You can call it an addiction, envy, or restlessness. But, we all know what I'm talking about. It's the belief that if we could just be somewhere other than where we are then everything would be ok. Sometimes though when we get to wherever it is we think we should be, we will then want to be somewhere else. There is a tension between knowing that it's good for us to stay and commit to the situation at hand, and knowing that it is healthy to stretch and grow. How do we stay grounded and follow through with what is happening now, and yet still be willing to explore new and uncomfortable adventures? There is so much to be gained by staying where we are. We gain the satisfaction of seeing something through to the end. Whether that be a relationship, a job, or a dream that have had in mind for many years. The daily effort that it takes, and the willingness to be there for a relationship
Read more

The Holding Pattern Becomes a Blessing

Most of us have had the unpleasant experience of being on an airplane that has been put in a holding pattern as it approaches the airport. As a result of some delay at the airport you are coming into  you are made to circle the airport over and over again until it is safe to land. This experience can be very frustrating, especially if we have another connecting flight to get to. This experience of being put in a holding pattern shows up in our everyday life sometimes. There are delays. The check we were supposed to get didn't come in the mail on time. The car dealer you took your car to for repairs didn't get your car back in time. And, now you have to rent a car. In life there are literally thousands of delays that can frustrate us. This is life. It is a common trait of us humans to want to see things go smoothly. We don't like delays. And, even some of us (me included) will want to take these delays personally. It is also my experience that delays can be an
Read more