He Brings Me Back

        I heard the story recently of a woman who, when she was a child, would run away.  It was just the way she handled things.  Ultimately, it was her brother who always caught up with her and brought her back.  As young people they were the best of friends and relied on each other continuously.  She said he’d become her confidant, adviser and her protector.  

The time came when just before World War II ended, he joined the Army.  She said she wrote him letters after he left, and he responded giving her his sage advice and the comfort she needed when she was stressed.   She was elated to see him come home for a visit, but of course, it was just a visit.  He had to return to the Army and she begged him not to go.  So angry was she, she refused to even see him off at the train station.  How sad it was that he returned three months later in a coffin at the same place from where he left.  

She said, she didn’t run away that time in the literal sense; there was no brother to come get her.  She ran away in other ways, although she didn’t elaborate on the details.  What she remembers, however, is that instead of her brother coming to rescue her, God did.  She eventually found herself in a church which set her on the path that would ultimately change her life.

I suspect we all have wanted from time to time to, just ‘run away.’  We feel like we need to be alone and escape all the ‘junk’ that fills our lives.  Of course, running away never accomplishes this, it only seems to enhance it and we find ourselves running all the time, while our inmost parts are seething with anger and resentment, sadness and loneliness.

Often we don’t really even want to run away so much as we want to be heard and understood, and to be loved, even when we make mistakes.  We want others to accept us without cruel remarks, or threatening undertones.  We want to look someone in the eyes and tell them what our heart really feels and what our minds are saying.

Sometimes, realizing ‘running’ isn’t the answer, we ‘steal’ away, if just for a few moments and collect our thoughts, reign in our emotions and pray that God would hear our screaming hearts, even when we don’t understand how we feel, or can’t find the way to put it into words so we can be understood.

God doesn’t want us to run away from Him.  He wants us to turn our faces and broken hearts to Him, listen for his soothing voice and accept his comfort, regardless of the situation.  Will this remedy the problem?  Not necessarily, but it can take the edge off, giving us a path of clarity so we may be able to deal with whatever it is, more productively. 

When our minds are clearer, even when we can’t reach the person or situation the way we’d like, we can find the means to talk with someone much like the brother and sister must have from the beginning of this post.  Often just talking things out with a person, who will be our confidant, advisor and protector, we can begin to have the broken pieces of our hearts put back together!