torn

虞や虞や汝を如何せん, originally uploaded by isado.

"A person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn and not easily mended."
— Ian McEwan

I've been thinking about resilience and fragility in terms of people. The kinds of things our hearts and minds can handle. The things we don't recover from, that cause us to 'limp' emotionally.

We had someone staying with us recently who'd been through some really awful circumstances. Now, he wraps himself in a cloak of rage and panic just to keep functioning. It wasn't easy to be around, but it did cause me to start examining myself, and the areas where I might be doing a similar thing albeit at a lesser degree. The areas where I cocoon myself into a standstill just because it hurts too much, or it is too scary.

But God knows that some things that we experience are almost too much to bear. He knows, and He does not take these things lightly, because He bears them with us. More importantly, He bore them for us, and because He did that, there will come a day when it won't be scary to be human anymore, It won't be painful. We will be healed. We will be whole. Praise Him!

“In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and He answered me by setting me free. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.” Psalm 118:5, 6a