"Is Life A Straight Line Or A Spiral?" As one examines nature, one finds very few straight lines in its creation. Although this can be debated, more often than not, the spiral is the center point of nature's organic structure. You might say, what about trees? They look pretty straight. Certainly, many stand tall and straight, until you cut a tree down and its spherical growth rings are made visible to the eye.
The Panorama of life is like nature. Most of the time, your life journey is anything but a straight line! How many times can you honestly say that your life followed a perfectly straight line from point A to point D? Grief and loss cause you to walk a path of pain. Often your grief trial is a path of tears. Intense physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual pain accompanies your grief journey. When unusual and significant challenges beset you, it is as though you have a giant 15,000-piece puzzle to put together and you cannot even find the corners. Your life experienc”ing upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight" ~ Orison Swett Marden. Candidly, life is often filled with unpredictable illogical diversions. You have most likely heard the longstanding adage, "You can't get there from here." The Bible tells about the ancient Children of Israel's experience with a possible straight line as they wandered around and around. It was like they couldn't get there from where they were.
Think about it. When Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, their destination, measured by a straight line, should have taken them roughly three weeks! Instead, they wandered meaninglessly in the desert for forty years! There are many answers to the WHY? Although difficult to interpret there is always a message in what we view as life's insanity. Consider your journey of chasing your unexpected detours and periods of running in circles. It is never for nothing, but instead, a life lesson to be learned. God often uses what you view as inconveniences or failures as invaluable opportunities to help you and me arrive at our destination as a different, changed person!
Like us, the children of Israel faced some serious obstacles. Their forty-year desert experience took what it took to get them out of Egypt, and to get "Egypt" out of them! 40 years to change a confused and corrupt mind into a heart of integrity was the reason for the delay. They had much to learn about personal agency. If they arrived in three weeks and learned nothing from their journey and remained corrupt, unworthy, unhealed people living in “Their Promised Land,” their journey would have been worthless.
The challenge for us is to understand the purpose and the future possibilities of the grief loss journey. Sometimes a grief happening really messes up our life. "I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself" ~Walter Anderson.
The healing process requires undeviating actions, and time enough to accept change so your life can be more whole and peaceful. Contemplate this question: would you be willing to wait and prepare for the healing wishes of your heart and mind, rather than get fulfillment immediately and be unprepared to fully receive them? Your answer will speak plainly if "healing integrity" is your ultimate goal.
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate" ~Carl Jung. As you arrive at the point of understanding that God knows far more than you and was aware of every daily step of your journey before you were born on his earth, you will embrace every frustrating catastrophe, each unforeseen twist and turn, every hardship, and every grief moment as an opportunity to reconcile your grief and loss. Only then, will you possess the personal empowerment, inspiration, and strength it takes to carry the healing blessings you desire and hold on to them forever.
May the Lord bless you with His wisdom as you go on your journey, trial and healing! Although the quickest and most economical path between two points is usually a straight line, regrettably, that only works on an active GPS! Grief and loss experiences are not a straight line but a spiral as your emotions and strength ebbs and flows. Be whole and healed in your life long journey!
John T. Catrett, III
ONHL Hospice Chaplain
124 East Broadway,
PO Box 1216
Drumright, Ok. 74030
918.352.3080