By
now you recognize how important remembering is when writing a memoir.
Reflecting—examining
the past, discovering deeper significance than you recognized at the time.
Remembering
and analyzing and piecing together can bring deep healing—and might even change
the direction of our lives.
Reflecting
on what God has done for us and through us can be life-changing.
Sometimes,
however, our introspection
leads
to painful memories, regrets, shame.
Our
hearts become troubled.
You
know what a troubled heart feels like.
So
do I.
Sometimes
it hurts for a long, long time.
And yet, Jesus said, “Don't let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1).
Lloyd Ogilvie offers us this consolation and hope: “We have a place to go with our troubled hearts—the heart of God.
God’s heart is “a place of reconciliation, forgiveness, and acceptance. . . . We were created to abide in His heart of love. . . . An intimate communion awaits us where we can unburden all our troubles and receive strength.” (Lloyd Ogilvie, Silent Strength for My Life)
Take
in Henri Nouwen’s words: “We are people with souls, sparks of the divine. To
acknowledge the truth about ourselves is to claim the sacredness of our being,
without fully understanding it.” Nouwen says we must “trust that our souls are
embraced by a loving God.” (Bread for the Journey)
“Solitude,
silence, and prayer . . .
offer
solutions
for
the complexity of our lives . . .
because
they bring us in touch with
our
sacred center, where God dwells. . . .
It
is the place of adoration, thanksgiving, and praise.”
May
God bring healing to our painful memories
and
our troubled hearts,
and
may we rejoice in Him
as
we dwell in that lovely place in His heart.
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