Astonishment. Amazement. Awe.

Friends, as I pen this down after a whirlwind of insane happenings the past 11 days, I’m still learning to grow into a fuller revelation of what it means to be pleasantly bewildered.

I wouldn’t say that we need very many spectacular things to know that the season has shifted, and though chaos still ensues, what I’m learning is that the Lord is able to manifest goodness, blessing and favour in the midst of it all.

“Pleasant bewilderment.”

On googling the meaning of the term,  “bewilderment,” I was met with the following statement,

“a state of being perplexed or confused.”

I’m sure I am not alone when I say that the past few seasons have come with more than a fair share of trials and traumas. There has been heartache and suffering, pain and brokenness. Unfair situations have kept coming up from time to time, leaving us with one question,

“Is it ever going to get better?”

I have wrestled with this question. I know I have, and perhaps friend, you’ve been there too.

But it is how the Lord meets us in the midst of despair that lifts us up and redefines our journey.

He has been teaching me much, and as I write, I hope that the nuggets I’ve gleaned from His heart serve to help you make sense of your own story and walk with the Lord.

So here goes.

As important as it is to acknowledge our feelings friends, I am learning that we don’t go by them. We are called, “believers” for a reason. Not “feelers.”

I don’t mean to be insensitive, quite the opposite really.

For the truth is that though we may feel the pain and heartache that are an inevitable everyday reality in some shape, way or form; we are not defined by it. We are only defined by Love, for that is our Identity.

It is God-given, and irrevocable.

But we do have a part to play in protecting that which He has given us. So how does that work?

Ahem.

Let’s see.

My feelings should never get in the way of my faith, I believe. Therefore, it is so vital to acknowledge them and process my experiences with the Lord. He does not dismiss my brokenness, so I don’t have to either.

The key lies in not stifling my emotions nor stuffing them away. It lies in not denying nor dodging.

For a humble acceptance of truth goes a long way.

So friends, I’m wondering,

“What if instead of burying that which needs addressing, tending and healing, we slowly learn to do just that? Address, tend and heal?”

For whatever is not revealed cannot be healed.

But whatever is brought out into the open, in the safety and security of God’s presence, can be and will be healed by Him. His Love and Truth are a healing salve that nothing can diminish the potency of.

So what if we started to unpack our backpack in front of the Lord? That which we have been carrying for years now? He delights in getting in the dirt with us. To help us sort and sift through our baggage. To show us what lessons of wisdom to pick up, and what toxic emotions to let go. To empower us to forgive the pain of our past, and to trust Him with the new story of Goodness, Grace and Glory that He is writing for our lives.

Sometimes, it is us who remain hesitant.

However, I do beseech you friend, that regardless of where you are in your own story with Him, you would take the time to get in the dirt with Him. In the safety of His love and presence to receive the healing salve of His love and truth that nothing can diminish the power of.

Not a past that looks worse than a trainwreck, and not even the worst sin you can think of.

Nothing.

For when we bring into the light of His face, everything that holds our hearts hostage to guilt, shame, bitterness, anger and unforgiveness, His mercy meets us, understands us, heals us and shows us the way forward.

Suffice to say, if we are truly going to walk in health and wholeness in the midst of a world that is anything but healthy and whole, then it remains important that our feelings, both good and bad, be acknowledged. It is in that that we truly honor our design, and the value thereof.

It is then that we learn that pain and hope can co-exist. It is not “either-or.” Rather, it is “both-and.”

Sorrow AND celebration. Grieving AND rejoicing. Feelings AND faith.

Hope is at the heart of our faith, and healing is the children’s bread. There is no hope without healing, and there is no healing apart from hope.

For my experience convinces me that they are in fact, two sides of the same coin.

It is when I am emotionally healthy that I am spiritually powerful.

And yes.

It is an everyday journey, a step by step walk with the Lord.

Healing paves the way toward hope.

Though nothing can take away from our Hope that is in Christ, things can certainly threaten to dim our consciousness of it. For anything that is unprocessed is ill-processed, and whatever is ill-processed is under the influence of a lie.

Truth and Love can never be divorced, and neither can Love and Hope.

To protect and cultivate our divine design which is Love, it is important that we know the Truth for it is only the Truth that we know that can set us free. And wherever there is freedom, there is power.

Power to be redeemed, be restored and be pleasantly bewildered.

Not because everything is perfect, but because we are free.

Free to love. Free to heal. Free to have hope.

Hope for a future that though obscure is only safely tucked away within the heart of our Saviour.

Only so that in the fullness of time, we will look back and say,

“He has done everything well.” (Mark 7:37)

Pleasant bewilderment, I’d say.