I have often thought that the Divorce Care and Loss/Grief Counseling at church should merge with Compassion & Justice Ministries. Because that is the avenue to wholeness and it is this brokenness that allows the heart to really serve well. Richard Rohr said in his book, Breathing Under Water, "I think your heart needs to be broken, and broken open, at least once to have a heart at all or to have a heart for others."
I would have to say I agree.
As a newly single mom, my recovery from this curveball came in the form of spending time with women who were homeless and some mission trips with my girls to areas in the U.S. and other parts of the world. We were given the opportunity to come alongside and serve others and I took advantage of this pretty much because God seemed to be telling me to get out of my own head/ego.
When googling this correlation, I found that it is not a new idea. An organization called "PROJECT GRACE", founded by Catherine Stern and Carole Mahoney, was formed just for this purpose. It is a platform for those in grief to engage cross-culturally in community service to others. Brilliant. They have seen this truth in their experiences...
"we are strengthened by giving compassion and support to others."
I was recently talking with a woman going through a rough divorce and having trouble with her teenage daughter. I recommended that she spend some time at the local soup kitchen. I thought it would be received with a strange look, but she said, yeah - I've been thinking about that. Deep down, she knew. Steve Wickham said this:
Our healing and wholeness come through serving. God knows this and He tells us this in Isaiah 58:7-8
It all comes down to what Jesus tells us in Matthew 25. When we serve others in this way, we are spending time with Jesus - and that is pretty much the coolest thing ever. No wonder it heals us.
I would have to say I agree.
When googling this correlation, I found that it is not a new idea. An organization called "PROJECT GRACE", founded by Catherine Stern and Carole Mahoney, was formed just for this purpose. It is a platform for those in grief to engage cross-culturally in community service to others. Brilliant. They have seen this truth in their experiences...
"we are strengthened by giving compassion and support to others."
I was recently talking with a woman going through a rough divorce and having trouble with her teenage daughter. I recommended that she spend some time at the local soup kitchen. I thought it would be received with a strange look, but she said, yeah - I've been thinking about that. Deep down, she knew. Steve Wickham said this:
"The secret to the best recovery is serving... As we serve we counter-attack".
Our healing and wholeness come through serving. God knows this and He tells us this in Isaiah 58:7-8
"... share your food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, clothe him... Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear"So, yes, I think that all Recovery/Grief/Loss groups should spend regular time joining Compassion & Justice efforts as part of their recovery. This would bring healing and meet the needs of the church and community. But it's only in a posture of mutual brokennes that allows for this. It is not just handing out food to people who need it, but sitting down and eating the spaghetti, rolls, and green beans while talking and listening. It's sitting against that cold wall at the prison with another beautiful human being, in whom God dwells, dining together on vending machine bacon double cheeseburgers (and actually liking it), knowing that "I'm broken, you're broken, and together God can fix us both" (Corbett & Fikkert, 2014). "We serve out of acknowledged brokenness... serving out of the brokenness of loss is the compelling avenue to God's help - a highway to healing" - Steve Wickham
It all comes down to what Jesus tells us in Matthew 25. When we serve others in this way, we are spending time with Jesus - and that is pretty much the coolest thing ever. No wonder it heals us.
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