They walk through my door with every sort of shape and size of shattered pieces. Some have tried their best to make jewelry out of them, most try and hide them, even from me.
These are people with broken lives, broken dreams, and broken hopes.
Did Jesus really know what he was promising when he claimed that he came so that all people could live life to the full? Did he have any idea how much pain there is in the world? Does ‘abundant life’ even apply to anyone anymore?
As usual, the answer is not in questioning Jesus’ promises, but in examining how we have come to expect the wrong things in his promises.
As I work with people trying to put the pieces back together, I have watched in amazement at the heart of Jesus quietly began making good on his promise. Many times, he does so without the person even knowing what is going on. He is repairing their souls in a permanent way at the same time they are looking for him to heal them in the way they think is best.
One subtle step I have seen is a person’s new found desire to be grateful. I am not talking about a plastic face that looks like it just came from the $1 store. I am not talking about doleful statements of God’s goodness as if they would convince anyone. After working through some critical steps of healing, a person just happens to be able to breathe fresh air again. She begins to look at the color and life of the world around her and smile, enjoy, and have permission to gratefully inhale all the oxygen her lungs can hold. I see this most when a client comes in and has a different expression on her face. As we talk, she almost offhandedly comments that she is grateful for what has happened to her because of all the depth of insight and healing she has received.
Now, this isn’t planned or scheduled. I am hard on myself. I don’t tell clients that they are going to experience this and to be ready for it. I wait on God’s Spirit to bring them to this stage. I want them to cooperate with the Spirit’s timing, not mine. But I reflect on what the poet said in Psalm 119:71; “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” Notice it doesn’t say it was a good affliction, but that God has been able to work so deeply…and intimately…through the affliction. As we succeed in replacing the missing pieces, gratitude from the heart continues to blossom and change color, always making fresh bouquets of His healing power.
Have you noticed it yourself? Have you experienced the abundance that Jesus promised? Have you been freed to begin to be grateful for what Father is doing in your rebuilding project?
It may be subtle and so tiny right now, but maybe it is happening and you don’t notice it yet. As you continue on your path, you will. God is good, he won’t leave you out of his promise to give you your share of his abundance.
George Pritchard Bio:
George Pritchard has his MA in Counseling Psychology and a certificate from Multnomah University. He has held a private practice for 27 years while ministering in churches at the same time. His main strength is in encouraging people to realize all they can be. His main love is Vickie, his wife of 34 years. His main focus is transforming the wounds in lives into trophies that can reflect abundant living. Vickie and George live in Prescott Valley Arizona, close to their grandchildren!
