Isaiah 61:1 “…He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted….”
Not long ago I had the opportunity to fly to Colorado Springs for a conference. I was excited to be heading back to Colorado. I had attended graduate school at the University of Colorado and worked there a year after school. The three years in Boulder were some of the most significant of my life…and some of the most agonizing.
Memories flooded my mind as the majesty of the Rockies came into view. So many familiar impressions…the distinctive flatirons providing the backdrop for the city, the green and white mountain license plates, Mesa Avenue (we don’t have any Mesa Avenues in Lancaster County), the tile roofs. But the feel of the sun struck me as most poignant. Even though it was February, the higher altitude made the sun’s rays warmer, closer.
The warmth of a closer sun….where my heart was broken and my beliefs were challenged. Yet also where the pain and heartache culminated in re-birth, leading me to a God who turned out to be more real than I ever imagined…closer, warmer. In all the years since, God has never failed to use my heartbreaks, disappointments, and disillusionment to impart more of his love. The warmth of a closer sun taught me that although the suffering part of loving is inevitable, I don’t have to be afraid. I can be vulnerable because his love heals and makes what was broken stronger.
If you are experiencing heartbreak in your life right now, don’t despair. God is closer than you think, and infinitely more interested in bringing you through than you can imagine. Soak in the rays of his healing….