How can my broken heart possibly help anyone?

Here's the Precious Prodigal post for August 20, 2014: How can my broken heart possibly help anyone? #reachingout #helpingothers Please "Share" using this "ShortLink" = http://bit.ly/1lhDZe6

Jude 1:22 “Of some have compassion, making a difference.”

Loving a prodigal is a difficult, painful, and often lonely journey. There is perhaps no sorrow to compare with it. And how could it not be lonely? If we don’t begin to isolate from our pain, we sometimes do it because of the undeserved shame that’s such a part of loving a prodigal.

Every parent sharing with pride the accomplishments of their children is another wound. Every happily married couple looking at one another with that special kind of love is a reminder of what we don’t have anymore. Seeing the closeness of sisters reminds us of our own broken relationships.

If you have a prodigal, you know exactly what I’m talking about. And it isn’t envy about what others have; it’s sorrow at what we’ve lost. After we’ve invested our lives in a relationship, we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t wonder how and why it went so wrong. Nor is it a surprise when we, like Elijah, begin to feel like “I, even I alone, am left.” (1 Kings 19:10) What’s the solution?

To begin with, the sins and behavior that caused our roof to fall in are certainly not God’s will. God doesn’t take pleasure in sin. However, the things we can learn and the way we can grow from that pain certainly are. And one of the most significant things we can learn is that God will “comfort us in all our tribulation.” (2 Cor 1:4)

The other and even more important thing we can learn from that verse is that we can comfort others with the same kind of comfort. And indeed, who could comfort someone who loves a prodigal the way you and I can?

Who understands a mother’s tears over her wandering son better than someone whose son is also wandering? Who knows the emptiness of the night when a spouse has walked away like those of us who have been there? Who can say with authority that there’s hope in the midnight hours like someone who has sat alone in the darkness?

You and I were created for a purpose, and that purpose is to bring glory to our God and to serve Him. He is deserving of all we have. And if the only thing we have to give Him is a broken heart, He’ll take that broken heart and use it to be a blessing to others.

When your heart is broken, it’s easy to get so wrapped up in your own sorrow that you can’t see others are hurting. But they are...you aren’t the only one. And you have something to offer them that no one else can give them…the experience of having been there and survived.

There’s great power in reaching out to encourage others from our own experience, strength and hope. Not expecting anything in return, we can give them the gift of hope. In giving, we can make a difference. And remembering we are not the only one suffering is something we need to hold fast.

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, rise above your own pain and reach out to comfort someone else?