Writing Fiction and Handing Off the Pain

A fellow writer and I were discussing the benefits of purging our emotional hurts by writing them out. The exercise forces you to address the wound, examine it in detail, and (if you are willing) let it go.

I had a suggestion. "Make it fiction. Give it to a character, help him/her work through it, and demonstrate an opportunity to grow through it. It'll give the character more depth, true emotion will shine through, and you can touch the hurt without spilling your guts. It removes the sting."

We discussed the various merits of this technique for a while. When my novels finally get finished, the characters might or might not have a few of the troubles I have had. (I thank God I haven't experienced all they have!)

This morning, as I waited for the coffee to finish dripping through the machine, our conversation replayed in my head. "Give it to the character" echoed around for a bit and then a little whisper in my heart said, "Why don't you just give it to Me?"

Indeed.

When we experience wounds of any kind, be they emotional hurts or physical ones, we have a choice. We can hang on to the pain, ladle the pain onto someone else, or take the pain to the Healer of Our Souls and leave it in His competent hands.

I haven't always chosen the latter, but I've learned it's the best thing to do. When we cast our burdens on the Lord, He doesn't just sustain us, He heals us. 

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds us their wounds." Psalm 147:3 nasb

Not long ago, I experienced a hurt that had some sting to it. I don't always respond quite so quickly, but that day, there wasn't time for whining or mulling or nursing the wound. Instead, I did the most sensible thing of all. I gave it to the Lord.

"I don't know what to do about this, Lord, so I'm giving it to you. If you want me to do something, You'll have to make it clear." It wasn't a fancy prayer, but it was good enough, I guess, because God took the hurt, healed it, and showed me how to navigate through it.

Next time, I hope I give my hurts to the Lord right away, without wasting time on brooding. He doesn't just take the sting out. He heals the hurt from the inside out.

Maybe I'm not the only one who's experienced a few of those stinging hurts. Those agonizing, twisting-dagger-to-the-soul wounds. If you have some of those wounds with persistent sting, why not do the most sensible thing of all? Quit brooding about the hurt and hand it off to the One who will bind, and balm, and heal.

Best of all, when you give your sorrow to the Lord, you won't leave empty-handed. In it's place, God will give you the joy of the Lord. 

Sorrow to joy. It's a trade worth making.

Why not do it today?

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In case you missed it, here's my post from Sunday: My latest adventure
(http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-latest-adventure.html)
The Hosea Bible study has started but it's not too late to join.

Here's the link from yesterday: The Fancy Paint Job and the Crummy Roof
(http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-fancy-paint-job-and-crummy-roof.html)
#writerslife #sorrow #castyourburdens #faithlife