Time Heals EVERYTHING!

It’s been a month since I started to blog (and I took time off for the holiday) but during that time I realized that blogging for me is writing about what is happening in my life now and what I am learning. So, from this post on I will be blogging from my heart… ENJOY!

The saying, “time heals all wounds,” feels like a platitude at best to a person suffering from the loss of a loved one, or who has experienced a deep wound from a friend. But recently I have come to believe that this saying is absolutely true, as long as you are open to being healed.

In my early 40s my husband and I left a ministry that we had been part of for most of our adult lives. We left for reasons that, at the time, seemed insurmountable. It was a bad time in our lives, to put it mildly. We lost everything that we held dear, including many long-term relationships. A friend, who had left the same ministry 6 years prior, tried to give me perspective. She told me that in time, none of this would remain important. But I just could not believe her. It seemed to me like this was a lifetime loss. The hurts were too deep and time would never be able to heal them. However, as the years passed I pondered this loss less and less. And with each passing year the memory of the hurts began to fade.

Our world is often a very small place until we leave it. At one time everyone I knew was somehow connected to the ministry I was involved in. But once I left and ventured out beyond those walls, not very many people had ever even heard of it. I was amazed at how big the world actually is and how small my world seemed in comparison. Time and space had a big impact on healing this once gaping wound.

Fast forward 8 years…

I was recently invited to attend a very special event for someone I was friends with during that time. I had not heard from this person in 8 years, but my love for him had never changed. I was pleased to be on the invitation list (although I was admittedly nervous about how I would be received). As the date of the event approached, I found myself looking forward to seeing old friends and finding that place of complete healing. Much to my delight I was received with open arms and many “it’s so good to see you(s)!” At the end of the evening I left with the profound understanding that time actually does heal EVERYTHING.

This gives me hope for other hurts that are still in the “healing” phase. The hurts that seem to bristle me at every turn. The loss that is often still so raw that I think I will always feel this way. This gives me hope that if enough space and time is placed between me and the situation then I will see some type of reconciliation unless…

Is there something we can do to keep time from doing its healing work?

Healing of a wound does not require that you simply “get over it” or pretend it didn’t happen. Time doesn’t heal the wound because you decided to let go or you didn’t ruminate over it for what seems like eternity. Time heals everything as long as you allow it to. This means that you have to be willing to let time heal you. You have to not carry past hurts on your chest like some badge of honor for the rest of your life. You have to be willing to forgive the hurts of the past, even while they still hurt. And then you just simply have to wait…

“Pray for those who mistreat you,” (Luke 6:28 NIV) and let time bring about healing and reconciliation.