A friend once shared with me, “I love the Bible, Jesus, and His Church. But I’ve been restless for years.” He wondered, “Why can’t I shake this [old emotional pain]?” The friend attended a men’s retreat weekend and his life changed. He outlined the steps that resulted in his change:

At the retreat he was asked to remember painful childhood stories. As he did, sadness rose. Normally, he would have felt ashamed for being weak. But, this time, he just sat in the sadness.

Then he said, “Something wonderful happened.” He explained it this way:

“My adult self and my wounded boy had an encounter. It brought me to healing tears. I was becoming whole for the very first time.”

He continued, “I saw that I had divided myself. I built a wall. My weak self lived on one side and my strong self lived on the other. In that one moment–the wall disappeared. I was whole again.”

Conclusion

You can’t live divided and be whole. And if you live divided you can’t be happy.

Prayer

Father, I divided myself. Please make me whole. Thank you Holy Spirit for showing me the way to emotional healing. Jesus, thank you for making me spiritually whole. Amen.

Bible

He heals the wounds of every shattered heart. – Psalm 147:3 (TPT)