The Common Thread
THE COMMON THREAD
On one fateful summer’s day in 1990, Marcia Shelton’s world changed forever. What started as a family camping trip with siblings & friends, ended in absolute tragedy with the drowning death of her younger brother, at only 23 years of age. Marcia and her sister watched the catastrophic incident unfold right before their eyes. The passing of their brother tore their family apart.
For months and years later, the grieving process looked completely different for each family member. For Marcia, she found strength and healing in opening up and sharing about the pain that had lodged itself deeply into her heart. Her Mother went completely silent, shutting herself inward. Her Father refused to accept…living in denial. As she worked through feelings of guilt and depression, she learned a valuable lesson…You can’t put a time frame on healing.
You see no one truly prepares their heart to experience trauma, it’s not something we plan for or can work through easily. Crisis can take us into a tailspin, causing us to re evaluate everything we know…and sometimes we wonder where God is in all of it. How one recovers from these moments is a very individual thing, yet there is a common thread that unites us…and that, according to Marcia, is isolation.
When we experience loss & grief, we are overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness. In those moments, we feel like we are the only one experiencing what we’re feeling and that no one can possibly relate. Nothing can be further from the truth. Pain is what connects us. Disappointments and sorrows connect us as a people. You see, pain recognizes pain.
Pain is a universal language that requires no interpreter.
Marcia Shelton is a living example to us all that there is life after trauma, that healing has no time limit and that we are never alone in our darkest moments. We are connected to God, and we are connected to each other. I am reminded of the scripture we shared on one of our past motivational mondays, found in Isaiah 41:10 where God declares:“ Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (ESV). God is with us.
The common thread is not just that we all experience and understand pain but it’s also that God is continually with each & everyone of us…even if we doubt His presence. God did not promise us a pain free life anywhere in the bible. What He did promise us, is that He would be right there with us through all of it. He will never leave us nor forsake us, and in times of trouble, He will lift us up. He is our Comforter…He is our Rock…let Him comfort you now, in every trial that you face.