It is often in our hurt that we can help others, but it is not the hurt itself that helps. It is the humility and authenticity. It is the moving through hurt that helps others. It’s the sharing of process, but it must include a process, not stalling and settling into a rut of comfort. Continuing through helps us with hurt, and it helps others.
It’s okay when we’re not yet on the other side of hurt. We might never completely be. It’s a process of healing; it takes time. But the process itself can help others.
A close friend wrote a post on her daughter’s birthday, sharing the pain of missing her, how grief has changed over the years, and how pain and hope are still tightly entwined with each other. Hurt, help, and humility – all wrapped together in a brief, authentic reflection. Her process ins’t wrapped in a neat, beautiful bow. It is still lopsided. It is tear-stained. It is tired. Yet it is beautiful nonetheless.
Beauty can come from ashes, but we must be willing to offer all the hurt and the mess. We must be willing to humbly share our lives in order to be rebuilt and repurposed. And the more we experience, we know that process requires others. We share, we give, we receive, we listen, we invite, we ask, we change.
And we heal.
