A Thankful Heart Can Heal a Broken Heart

Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Some of you loved it; you were showered with gifts and attention; you were reminded of love.

For some however, Valentine’s Day is a reminder not of love, but of loneliness. It brings to remembrance of and feelings of disappointment, disillusionment, abandonment.

There is perhaps nothing more painful in this life than the loneliness of a broken heart.

There is perhaps nothing more precious than someone coming along to offer comfort for loneliness; healing for the pain of the break.

I am so thankful that God understands a broken heart. That He Himself has experienced a broken heart. And that He offers comfort and healing.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

~Psalm 34:18

Even when our pain is so great that we doubt His Love, God is still faithful to reach out to us, and to somehow lead us to that place where finally the pain begins to subside, and where step by step the healing process can begin.

And when our hearts are broken, He encourages us to experience bits and pieces of healing by trying the following methods:

Talk to Him

 Pour it out… Cry… Yell… Get Angry… Be honest… He longs for you to:
“Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
~Matthew 11:28

Let Him carry the heavy end of your load.

Find a reason to laugh

“A cheerful heart does good like a medicine”
~Proverbs 17:22

Reach out to help someone else

Amazing how this can make you feel So much better
"Give and it will be given to you:
~Luke 6:38

Ask for prayer

“Pray for one another so that you may be healed”
~James 5:16

Give thanks

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds.”
~ Philippians 4:6-7 NIV                        

A broken heart is an unfortunate reality of life.

God has provided methods of healing.

A thankful heart is one of His soothing balms.

Read this story of one man’s broken-heart journey.

He and his family experienced the broken heart that comes from losing someone in death.
They experienced an emotional and a physical broken heart.
And they experienced healing by being thankful:

How a Thankful Heart Can Heal a Broken Heart

By Brian Lee

Have you ever had a broken heart? Did you know that you can actually die from it?

There was nothing that could prepare me for the phone call I got November 15, 2005, from my mom. She tried to be calm as she broke the news to me of Dad’s heart attack, and it didn’t look like he was going to make it. Praying did not stop me from pacing in circles and repeatedly crying out in a panic, not Dad, not my dad!

He was only 62 years old. It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t right! My young children were never going to know their grandpa!

When we gathered as a family around my dad’s bedside, I was able to somehow lead us in singing praises to God -- I knew we could never make it through the days ahead without leaning on God and His comfort. As we gave thanks, I immediately felt peace; and I knew God would carry us through the most difficult days of our lives. Little did I know how much more difficult it was going to get for us.

Mom started to turn pale and was experiencing chest pain, along with shortness of breath. She figured it was just stress, but the hospital chaplain recommended a trip to the ER for a check-up. While in the ER she started vomiting, and lost consciousness. Her blood pressure dropped to as low as 50/30. The staff summoned me, and I soon felt a panic; I felt like a fish-out-of-water, as I found the nurses and doctors in-a-frenzy.

They told me that Mom was having a heart attack too. There was no time to even think about what was occurring. Within minutes the frenzy in the room moved to frantic. I was informed that she was having a second attack and that she needed to be transferred to a different hospital. My heart sank as I moved from feeling like a fish-out-of-water to someone who had drawn the short stick and was about to have a neutron bomb dropped on me.

Thankfully I was spared the neutron bomb. Mom’s life was spared and we’ve been blessed with spending more time with her. (Her heart attack was diagnosed as the result of a medical condition called stress cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome.)**

I was sent home to get some rest and to begin my grieving process. I sat on the couch in my basement staring at the holes that had been worn into the carpet from my pacing the night before. The holes were soon filled with oceans of tears as I cried out to God, asking him for comfort. He brought to my mind a passage from the Bible:

^“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:6-9 (NKJV)

As I pondered these verses; as I chose to be thankful and think on the good things, God’s Holy Spirit moved me from grief to joy, and reminded me that my dad had just entered Heaven.

In all of my life I never heard my Dad say goodbye to anyone – instead he would always say, “see you later.”  And no matter what happened in life, his faith in Jesus Christ gave him the confidence to know that we would spend eternity together in Heaven. I took comfort in knowing that he was with Jesus, and that I would one day see him again.

Have you ever had a broken heart? I welcome you to share with your comments on this article.

~ Brian

Brian Lee is Chief Encouragement Officer of Champions in Christ

To contact Brian, or to learn more about Champions in Christ, visit:
E-Mail: brhopelee@yahoo.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/champsinchrist
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brhopelee
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Champions-In-Christ/127379880667870

**If you would like to know more about broken heart syndrome, The Wall Street Journal and Katie Couric both did a story on it.

~~

May the peace of God which passes understanding keep your heart and your mind, as you give thanks, as you let Him carry the heavy end

~ Connie

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