Season of Healing

Anticipation’s tough to take

with hours, months, and years at stake.

Where’s my map… what’s the plan?

Waiting’s awfully hard to stand.

When we have a dream that is the passion of our hearts… just as Dragonfly Denny did… it is difficult to take time out for anything else. But there is wisdom to be found in Ecclesiastes that says, “For everything there is a season… a time to break down and a time to build up… a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance…” The Dragonfly King requires Denny to take time out to heal from some things that are interfering with her ability to fulfill her destiny. Have you ever refrained from your normal activity level for a season, specifically to heal from something painful? What was that journey like for you?

Our feelings are a guidepost

to thoughts held deep inside.

Don’t bury hurt… it makes things worse −

a tender heart’s your prize.

Having the capacity to feel is one of the ways that marks us as being human. It is not wrong to feel things like anger, sadness, loneliness, or abandonment – but how we act on those feelings makes all the difference. If we reflexively deny painful emotions at first hint (or even steadily over a longer period of time) they wind up being buried out of our awareness − only to leach up to the surface and pollute all our relationships like underground canisters of toxic waste.

The risk of steeling our hearts against the experience of difficult emotion is that we wind up desensitized to what is amiss in our inner life. While we may think it helpful to protect ourselves from pain, “getting tough” also limits our ability to let in that which is nurturing, warm, and loving. In addition, being able to follow a spiritual path, or to approach someone in gentleness, requires a sensitivity that becomes calcified when we harden our hearts.

On the other hand, if we try to set up permanent residence in the place of pain it will drain us of life. Leaving us with nothing to give, sadly, we become relational “black holes.” While it may not be our intention, existing as an emotional vacuum causes us to carry an atmosphere that draws upon the life energy of others. To protect ourselves (and those around us) we need to fill ourselves up with that which is good.

Don’t build your home in darkness −

it’s not the place to dwell.

You need the light to grow some joy

which helps to break the spell.

The wisest choice (as with most things) is the place of balance. It is important to feel our feelings fully − the good, the bad, and the ugly. Journaling, utilizing the tools of prayer and meditation, and sometimes enlisting the help of a counselor, someone we’ve grown to trust, or joining a support group, can help us through a difficult season.

Even more helpful, if we are so inclined, is to express our experience creatively. How many songs, stories, or works of art were birthed through pain but now live on to help validate the feelings or struggles of others?

 Songs of joy, songs of tears…

 songs of conquering my fears −

music from a writer’s heart…

 becomes another’s place to start.

As with physical healing, emotional healing requires our attention and that we be properly “bandaged.” It is important to take appropriate steps to fight “infection,” making time for plenty of rest, and receiving proper nourishment (not only physical, but emotional and spiritual). If you need to heal, like Dragonfly Denny, consider a “time out” from your usual schedule to bring things to a slower pace so that you might be strengthened to pursue your dreams with renewed vigor.

The healing of a hurting heart

needs nourishment and rest,

as well as truth to fight the lies

that rob me from my best.

Even as a baby is formed in the womb (going through a period of gestation), Denny was being “renovated” in a “womb-like” transformational spiritual experience.

A Womb’s secluded, quiet, dark

where new formation finds its start.

The tranquil heart there calmly trusts

the quiet that surrounds.

Wrapped in a blanket of pure rest

renewal will abound.

During this season of healing, the Dragonfly King gives Denny a peek into her future with a “vision” to sustain her – something we all need to pull us forward through difficult times. What do you set your mind on to carry you through hard times?

Vision is a hope we see

which guides us where we long to be.

While we make a choice to submit to a season in which we can heal, it also requires that we place our dreams on hold. This can be a difficult thing indeed. We may be tempted to fear that our dreams will never come to pass if we “let go” for a time. Denny was told by the King that there were “soldiers dispatched to guard [her] dreams” while he renovated her soul. What does that mean to you?

Hidden in the spirit realm

is a battle for my dreams –

if I could see some flaming swords

which flashed like lightning true and sure,

could I simply rest assured

all I need is to believe?

The concepts of yielding and surrender to a spiritual path implies a growing confidence of faith that there is an Eternal Presence that is good and will protect our dreams if we commit ourselves to that Presence. If you make a choice to allow internal change, do you believe you can cultivate a walk where (like Denny was invited to do by the King) your spirit can soar in an “upper stratosphere” above your circumstances? How do you think a person might do that?