Good morning my friend.
A few weeks ago on the podcast, we took a hard look at the interplay between feelings and thoughts, a part of your brain called the corpus striatum, the importance of tonically active neurons. I shared an incredible and conversation with New York Times-bestselling author Jennie Allen, and I’d love for you to hear it if you missed it then.
This week, I had the incredible honor of being a guest on Jennie’s podcast, the perennial Top-20 show Made for This. We had a wonderful conversation about trauma, grief, and how faith and brain science smash together, and I think it will bless you.
Yesterday, we attended the funeral of a great man, the first of three of our loved ones who had recently entered hospice care. It’s a season of memorials, memories, and fresh wounds for some people we love, and a good reminder that John 16:33 is both a scary promise and a wellspring of hope:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus, John 16:33, NIV
Trauma, drama, tragedy, loss, and other massive things are part of the “trouble” Jesus was referring to. Learning to untangle all the emotions those moments bring us, properly contextualize them, and allow them to infuse ourselves into our souls is how we become fully formed people. The kind of people who can understand how Jesus could be a “man of sorrows,” but also constantly growing in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man (Isaiah 53:3, Luke 2:52).
Seasons of sorrow are a normal part of life, but that doesn’t make them hurt any less. The good news is, we have a muscle we can flex that’s called hope. And hope, as Paul says, “… will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:5, NIV).
Don’t forget, when it feels like life is conspiring to “steal, kill, and destroy” your heart, that Jesus promised he came here to give you the ability have “life, and have it abundantly,” at the same time. (John 10:10, NIV)
Those two conversations with Jennie Allen will give you some tools to help you hang on in hard times, and know that the light is still there too.
The good news is, you can start today.
Lisa and I are praying for you.
Dum spiro spero (While I breathe, I hope),
Lee
Psalm 71:14 ("As for me, I will always have hope.")
From the banks of the North Platte river on Moon River Ranch in Nebraska, USA
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