Hidden places of the Heart

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend and she shared that she had some unresolved issues with her father.

Like many of us, she'd grown up with her father being absent from her life, and even into her adulthood, there was a void in her life from the place he should have occupied.

Though my friend spoke words of deep resentment and anger towards her father, my ears heard something else.

Another friend shared with me the disappointment she was experiencing because another friend had betrayed her. When she'd needed her friend the most, that friend let her down.

Again I saw resentment falling from her lips, but I heard something else.

While riding the bus home from work one day, I overheard two women talking about their children. It seemed one in particular was very upset with her teenage son.

I turned in the direction she was sitting, and I couldn't help but take note of her obvious aggitation and anger as she talked with the woman sitting next to her.

But again, although I saw the anger, I heard something else.

What I'd heard in all of these women wasn't simply anger or even just them being upset. Though each of their stories were different, they all shared something in common.

Hurt.

And it caused me to wonder.

How many of us walk around with some form of hurt hidden in our hearts. On the outside we appear to be okay. We function normally and we go about our daily business. Looking at us, no one would ever know we had a care in the world.

But just as I did with each of these women, if you listen close enough to what is said, you can hear what it is really being said.

Hurt does have a voice.

Sometimes it sounds angry and upset.
Sometimes it sounds depressed and alone.
Sometimes it is silent and says nothing at all.

But it's still there just the same.

Thinking of each of these women caused me to take a look at my own life, and as I turned inward, I saw areas of hurt hidden there as well. And through prayer and reflection I came to a conclusion that I think I've always known, but never really thought about.

The only cure for hurt is forgiveness.

Simple.
But none the less true.

Anger comes easily. We all experince it.
Disappointment is natural. We're all human.
Frustration is inevitable. Life happens to all of us.

But to forgive is a choice that although it doesn't erase hurt, it does free us from the damage that unresolved, hidden hurt can cause.

Hurt only serves to hinder us.

But forgiveness comes that we might be free.

Which one would you rather hold in your heart?