Shattered

Jeremiah 6:14 says "They dress the wound of my people as though it is not serious. "peace, peace" they say, when there is not peace.

The Message translation reads it this way:  "My people are broken---shattered!--and they put on Band Aids, saying, its not so bad.  You'll be just fine. But things are not just fine"

"My people are broken--shattered!"    Clearly, its not describing a paper cut here, its saying broken and shattered.  The definition of shattered is: break or cause to break suddenly and violently into pieces; To cause the destruction of; destroy.   How do you fix something like that with a Band Aid?  The truth is, you cant put the pieces back together without Gods hand guiding them into place.

I still have a tendency to try to "fix" life myself.  When will I ever learn to fully 100% rely on God?
I know when things are falling apart, that somewhere along the line I have probably chosen to make my own rules.

As women, we tend to show ourselves as supermoms, or super-employees, or a super-wife...and more often than not...we are all three of them at once.  We put on our strong face, and we are determined to move forward with our duties.   The Band Aids we put on our wounds are there, and we continue being brave little soldiers as we fearfully tackle life....others see it as fearless...but we know better...or do we?  I look back and believe I had myself convinced I was okay for a long time.

As time passes, our Band Aids grow weaker, and our wounds become more and more infected.  Then there comes a day when the wounds can't be held together with Band Aids any longer, and we find ourselves at Gods mercy....broken and shattered.

There are so many women in this world who have so much to give, and so much pain in their hearts.  I know I'm not the only woman who couldn't find it in me to forgive myself let alone ask forgiveness.
Where are these women?  The truth is they are all over the place and right in front of you.  They are your sister, friend, mother, daughter, the woman sitting next to you in church...all of them trying to keep the band aids on and put on a brave front.  The statistics of abortion don't lie.  43% of women have had abortion, and a very large percentage have had more than one.

I want so bad to reach out and make a difference, but how do you do that when secrets are so dark and deep?   Its not like I can walk up to someone and say hi..I've had  3 abortions fathered by a married man, done drugs and drank like a fish....how about you?   So..where does a person start?  How can I find these women and gain their trust and show them that God is waiting for them to come to Him?   It weighs on my heart and I do pray that God opens a door or two for me and I pray that I recognize it when He does.

I know that leaders of Surrendering The Secret have approached other churches and pastors who fully believe that problem doesn't exist in their church.  How heartbreaking.

This is real life folks...pain and shame happens and we are all worthy of Gods love and forgiveness.  Jesus died on the cross for that very reason, and if we can't find it in ourselves to let our narrow minded guards down, and open our hearts to women who are suffering, then why did Jesus die?  What was the purpose of his suffering.  He was nailed to the cross so we could be forgiven!  YOUR name was spoken as he died on that cross..what more could we ask for?  He didn't do that so we could bury our heads in the sand and pretend this kind of heart ache isn't real.   Luke 4:18 says :The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor: He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted...
So, why are we shutting the doors in the faces of brokenhearted  women?  Are we going to allow the enemy to win this battle?  I think not!  But its going to take some serious opening of our hearts to make a difference.

I read in a book that the Greek word for poor is ptochos and that means utter helplessness, complete destitution, afflicted and distressed.  It had nothing to do with finances.
It also said the original word for brokenhearted is suntribo, and that means to break, strike, and break the power or strength of someone.   Both of those words describe who I was.

It seems to me that Jesus came specifically for the fatal wounds of life...the wounds that we try to put band aids on and hide.  I'm not saying it was an easy thing for me.  It was incredibly hard and painful.  Jesus takes the band aids off, but typically fatal wounds require some kind of surgery.  Healing is not painless.  He will take apart the shattered pieces, and put them back to together the way they should be.  Nobody says its easy, but it was so worth it.

Tomorrow we are focusing on the Sanctity of Life in church, and I pray for women to find the courage to seek God in her pain, and find the most amazing healing.