And Last Week...
Here’s the thing—again—healing is central, essential, fundamental to the realm of the Soul and the Spirit. And here’s the second thing—again—the experience of healing, the process of healing, the healing encounter is a COOPERATIVE venture. Healing cannot—and is not—imposed. One is invited, usually over and over, by the Mystery of the Divine to enter into the process, mystery, and miracle of healing—and we cooperate with these invitations—or we don’t.
I find this week’s story delightful—and demanding.
THE key word in the story?
Wait for it: Let.
“And last week—he LET me love the hell out of ’em.”
And this week, may we choose to cooperate with a God eager and desperate to love the hell out of us. May we vulnerably and courageously let God love the hell out of us.
- Terry Nelson-Johnson
Pain
Have you ever found yourself clinging to a pain—an ache in your heart—like it’s somehow safer to hold onto it than to risk letting it go? I know I have. Pain can become oddly familiar, so much so that we start treating it like an old friend. Yet, something in us longs for freedom, for a love that will unravel the tangled knots inside. The stories we’ve been sharing in Stories & Other Things Holy remind us that we’re not alone in this struggle; our wounds, our past hurts, and our tender places matter deeply to a God who is desperate for us to experience healing.
This week’s story about the dog who finally let himself be loved feels like an invitation to each of us. We see our own hesitations and defenses reflected in that dog’s journey. Little by little, we can learn to let go of our pain—a cooperatively healing process that can’t be forced on us but must be welcomed. In rolling over, belly exposed, the dog showed us that the real risk and the real reward lie in choosing vulnerability. It’s scary. It costs us our excuses and our safety nets. Yet the payoff is a liberating love—a love that expands us, frees us, and draws us closer into the sacred community we’ve been seeking all along. Here’s to risking that freedom together, friends—to letting go of the pain we’ve clutched like a lifeline, and opening ourselves to a God who longs to love the hell right out of us.
- Joshua Minden
