By Debbie Terry
You know you are truly healing when your heart is at home—literally
For those of you who know me, you know that my passions are found in marriage and family. These relationships are the well-spring of life. The ones I am most focused on are the ones we create at the alter when we say “I do.” That is the beginning of the most important relationship we will ever have here on earth.
Marriage is an earthly symbol of Christ’s relationship to us. ‘”For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church.’ Ephesians 5:31-32.
This chapter is full of admonitions like “Husbands, love your wives, ” Love them like your own bodies, wives, respect your husbands, “Be very careful, then, how you live…,” and there are references to not engaging in sexual immorality or impurity or greed within those relationships. These are not unattainable, perfectionist, lofty goals. Rather, these are guidelines for disciple within the greatest covenantal relationship we could ever have here on earth next to our faith in Christ.
But far too often, we hear of marriages being broken and the excuses don’t measure up.
Disclaimer: I am not speaking about outright abusive relationships. If you are in an abusive situation, please respect yourself enough to get out and get help. No mount of Biblical mandate will “fix” your spouse!]
During this pandemic, the Safe Call Now hotline that serves first responders, military, and also the medical profession, has yielded a VERY high volume of calls. Recently, a trend was noted.
Whereas pre-pandemic callers were seeking treatment to get better for the sake of their jobs, now callers are seeking to get better for the sake of their families. This is a major paradigm shift; a necessary shift for true, deep healing.
People are realizing that their behaviors have been hurting the deepest and most important relationships they have been given. The scales are falling off during this pause and it is awesome. This trend shows that truly this slower pace has opened hearts and minds to what is TRULY important in the grand scheme of things. This paves the way for essential healing and restoration because it is no longer about “me”, but about “we”– just exactly like the vows most of us took when we said “I do.”
Throughout scripture, we are reminded to remember what the Lord has done, what He has put together, how he has helped us grow. How many of us, faith or not, truly believed that we were blessed with the love of our lives when we stood at the alter? Where did those dreams of building a legacy together go? The good news is that those dreams are not gone. They are still there and they are still strong and, they are begging to be given the attention to be resurrected and brought to fruition.
From the looks of this trend, we are seeing this call.
“He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers;” Malachi 4:6.
This is the picture of true, deep mental health. When your heart turns toward home, that’s when you know you are healing.
If you, someone you love or someone you know needs help, call:
Safe Call Now: 24 Hour Confidential Hotline: 206-459-3020
For more information on the First Responders program: Click here
Or call Shannon Clairemont at 661-466-6352 or Vanessa Stapleton at 304-651-3008
