Tag: wounds

I Hear the Sound of Breaking Hearts

I hear the sound of breaking hearts.

Tender, young hearts, open and hopeful,
Facing betrayal from the church which formed them.

Scarred, resilient, older hearts,
Once-healed wounds torn open by hatred and prejudice.

I know the pain of a breaking heart.
The shock, the sadness,
The emptiness that has no end.

Beloveds,
You are held,
You are loved.

Your wounds are tended
By the One who knew you before you were imagined,
The One who whispers,
“I created you,
And I love you
Just the way you are.”

Henri Nouwen said it this way:

Long before your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your school, your church touched you, loved you, and wounded you — long before that you were held safe in an eternal embrace.
—Henri J. M. Nouwen
Our First Love

A Blessing of the Wounds (#metoo)

Bless, O bless these wounds,
God, the healer.
Fresh wounds, still bleeding.
Tender hearts, tender spirits.
An innocent crossing the path of violence.
Bless, O bless these wounds.

Bless, O bless these wounds,
God, the comforter.
Old wounds, healed over,
But suddenly reopened,
Tender hearts, tender spirits.
Wounds inflicted by stories in the news.
Bless, O bless these wounds.

Bless, O bless these wounds,
God of tenderheartedness.
Hidden wounds, forgotten, never known,
Tear through the layers of memory.
Wounds, long buried, rise to the surface.
Bless, O bless these wounds.

Bless, O bless these wounds,
God, of justice.
And bless those bearing these wounds:
Victim or survivor,
Angry prophet or weeping child,
Tender hearts and tender spirits.
Bless, O bless these wounds.