I sat with a bunch of my good friends recently and we talked around a kitchen table in the welcoming home of a friend. We are women who meet weekly as a group to work through bible studies together, and this morning was our first day to meet in the new year. We took turns updating the group about how we are doing, and what we are working on as people.
We check in with each other frequently, so this was not new, but somehow today seemed different. The burdens we were carrying were heavy, and in my opinion they seemed heavier than usual.
We have empty-nesters who are trying to find their new life purposes and are concerned about their adult children making their way in the current world. There is a recent widow who is taking on new challenges on her own. We have moms who are concerned about their children’s anxiety in a world where anxiety is rampant. There are women who are sandwiched between the intense needs of teen children and aging parents. We have those experiencing struggles as roles in life change, and they seek to align their family’s different personality types and goals for the future. We have those who are struggling with unmet expectations in a season which seemed destined for success, and some who are doing the work to heal from past traumas. All of this “heavy stuff” among 10 women.
It struck me that if we were all verbalizing so many struggles within our small group, what must it be like for the rest of our community, nation and the world in general? We have all experienced trauma of various types in these several years since we were faced with a global pandemic, wars, and so many other trials. It may not be the type of trauma that leaves a visible scar, but in reality, most traumas never do.
I have no solution to the chaos that we find ourselves in currently. Well, that is not exactly true. I should say I have no quick solution. There is no quick fix for what ails us; I believe this was God’s design. He clearly did not want us living in a fallen world, but once Adam and Eve gave up Eden by disobeying God’s rules, the fallen world was inevitable. There is no quick fix, but there is an omni-present God who loves us and all we have to do is open our hearts and minds to Him and the relationship He wants to have with us. He doesn’t take away our struggles, but He walks beside us to help carry the burdensome weight.
I am reminded that there are people among us who appear as if they have it all under control, but many of them are struggling. They are our friends, neighbors, co-workers and the people we see out running errands. They are the people we love, and those who we find difficult to love.
According to the dictionary, the term “walking wounded” refers to people suffering from physical or psychological injuries or ailments who nevertheless carry out their daily lives as normal. As humans surviving these past few years of Covid-19 and its aftermath, I believe we all carry some physical or psychological injuries and are in some ways “walking wounded”.
We are all walking around with unseen hurts. We do our best to shove them beneath the surface and hide them under the many masks we wear, but that can only last for so long. The trauma will bubble to the surface and we will be forced to face the “injuries” we carry. When we do, we may choose to share them with trusted friends or family, but hopefully, we will remember to cry out to God. As Psalm 34:17-18 reads:
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Being able to sit and listen to my friends served as a blessed reminder to me to have more patience with others. It is easy to do so with my friends, but not so easy with the strangers who don’t think the same way I do, or who cut me off in traffic, or whatever the “sin of the day” might be. I am going to have to be intentional, but I am going to try to remember that everyone is suffering from some type of trauma from these past few years. Many of us are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. If we all try a little harder with each other, we just might begin to heal some of those wounds and our world will see a change for the better. With God, all things are possible.