You are Not Crazy. You are Loved, Worthy, and Capable.

Part 2 of 3

In our last post, we introduced three fundamental truths you need to believe in order to find healing:

• God loves you.

• You are worthy.

• You are capable.

Yet, you may wonder, if this is true - why do I feel the way I do?

Have you ever wondered what is it that has happened that has made you feel like this? “This” may be sick, tired, worn down, irritable, short-tempered, wired, etc. It may or may not include physical symptoms like irritable bowel, bloating, aches and pains, constipation, tense muscles, inflexibility, migraines, always being hungry, never being hungry, anxiety, depression – the list goes on.

It seems like you used to be fine, or maybe you always felt that something was a little bit off, and then suddenly you just weren’t anymore. You started to feel like something was off. Maybe you could immediately identify it, maybe you could not. Perhaps you went to the doctor and were given a diagnosis or told everything seems all right. The reality is, when it comes to chronic, non-life-threatening illnesses or feelings of dis-ease, it does not matter what specifically is happening because the root is in the garden.

As soon as Eve and Adam chose to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, sin fell upon the earth. In Genesis 3:16-20, God told Eve

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you” through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

From this day forward, mankind was in constant struggle with the earth, which has only amplified through the centuries. Despite our intellectual and technological advancements, we are sicker than ever, more depressed than ever, and more isolated than ever.

The same is true now as it was in Lamentations after the destruction of Jerusalem:

• The temple is broken

• The king has left

• The people are in exile

Whereas Jerusalem’s destruction meant a destruction of the physical temple, today we recognize that our bodies are the temple of the Lord as it is the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. And it is utterly broken. By the time most women hit the age of 30 they have begun to significantly notice their body’s decline and begin to feel “old” and that the downward spiral has begun. Years of stress, inadequate nutritional intake, trauma, and life experiences have worn the temple down, and we find we have not continued the adequate upkeep that a holy dwelling requires. A body that was built to last a century has already begun to crumble only a third of the way through its lifespan.

Furthermore, the king has left. In Jeremiah’s day, this meant a literal king, the person who had been entrusted to lead the Israelites in their spiritual development and build the kingdom. In today’s world, I believe the missing king is the patriarch of the family, the spiritual leader within the household. Not only are we facing an epidemic of fatherless homes, but we are facing an even greater epidemic of men who no longer know how to, want to be, or realize they are responsible for being the spiritual leaders of the family. In many homes this means the wife is attempting to take on the role of spiritual leader in addition to her duties as a wife, professional, housekeeper, and mom. An additional role and stress in her life that she was never meant to carry.

The culminating truth of the broken temple and missing king is that we are in exile. Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians, her people left humiliated, suffering, and in great despair. Their foundation had been destroyed, their ties with God severed, their sense of purpose and direction lost, and their lives burdened with hardships and grief they had never imagined. Does this sound familiar in your own life?

Today, identify where the themes from Lamentations are true in your life.

• Is there anything about your temple (your body) that is broken? This may be an actual diagnosis of disease or simply a feeling of dis-ease within you. How does this alter your quality of life?

• Is there a “king” who has left in your life? This may be or even only feel like God, your husband or partner, your father, your grandfather, or someone or something totally different. What effect has this had on your life?

• Do you ever feel like you are “in exile”? Like you are isolated? Alone? That nobody understands you or what you are going through? How does this make you act and behave?

God Bless,

Kristie