After the Dallas police shooting last month, TD Jakes, offered a wonderfully inspirational message that we could all learn from.
The phrase in this picture really made me stop and think about pain and the many forms it takes.
We all quickly rally around the loss of loved ones, lost relationships, and I guess pretty much anything that results in a loss of something we loved. Pain takes many roads, and shows up on all of our door steps. Hidden pain, pain that nags and pain we feel others just couldn’t understand.
Pain comes into our lives at all ages, and even that 7-year-old you see skipping down the street may not have a great home life and may be experiencing great pain. I know, because I was that child.
I of course am using that as an illustration to make sure you get the point, but the hope is you’ll grasp that pain is real and it surrounds us all, and we often don’t know what to do to help. When something happens to a friend, I never know if I should stop by the hospital for a visit, or present my prayers and hope for the best. It’s hard to know if you haven’t been in their shoes.
My thought after talking to some folks who have experienced deep loss, is that you don’t have to UNDERSTAND, you just need to be there in whatever way is authentic for you and shows you care. In times of PAIN, people need to be loved and that comes in many forms. It takes an entire village. Every manner of hope is what we need in our lives and as a country as Bishop Jakes so eloquently shares.
Lean into the pain, both yours and the pain of those in your circle. We need each other and we need the hope that we can all BRING TO THE WORLD.
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