Heartbreak tends to reveal the best and worst of people. It binds together, or it divides. It shows strength of character, or it shows the utter depravity of man. Heartbreak is so painful that it seems there are few in-betweens, only the extremes.
Heartbreak is also an opportunity, though. It is a chance to shore up weak vessels, to strengthen resources, to deeply soak up what really matters. Anne Lamott tells the following story in her book, Further Thoughts on Faith, and it has stuck with me. “There's a lovely Hasidic story of a rabbi who always told his people that if they studied the Torah," she writes, "it would put Scripture on their hearts."
"One of them asked, 'Why on our hearts, and not in them?'"
"The rabbi answered, 'Only God can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put it on your heart, and then when your hearts break, the holy words will fall inside.'"
I don't like heartbreak any more than the next person, but what if I saw it as an opportunity: not just to see "the real me," but to soak up the good stuff, to soak up God's love and grace and wisdom and healing. I don't want to pursue heartbreak just for this sake, but since it's bound to come to me, why don't I look for God in it? Why don't I study the Scriptures that tell me of God more? Why don't I ask for and even invite God to come in?
Heartbreak, sooner or later, comes for all of us. We can decide what to do with our broken hearts, though. We can decide how we tend to them, with the medicine of the world, or the medicine of The Word. May we make the best choice, for God's glory and our good. Amen!
Reference:
Lamott, A. (2000). Traveling mercies: some thoughts on faith. First Anchor Books edition. New York, Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
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