From Grief to Hope

Grief, anger, fear, resentment are powerful forces that when left alone, or compressed, will only grow stronger. They can fester and cause an incredible amount of toxicity. They beckon us to act quickly, find solutions, or do all we can to move quickly so that we no longer feel our pain. Sadly, these emotions often cause us to ignore our pain or the grief of others.

Andrew Sung Park wrote a helpful book called "From Hurt to Healing" discussing the theological process by which these raw emotions may be harnessed into something fruitful and productive. One of the most useful items I take from this book is a concept called Han, which can be described as the void left after a deep wound to one's soul. Long after a physical wound is healed, a spiritual or emotional scar can take significantly longer to heal. During the process, the weight upon one's soul is to what Han refers.

Han is both individual and collective and is always expressed in either positive or negative ways--never neutral. It may be months, years, or even decades later, but at some point the Han will find a way to be expressed in the physical world. You might consider the events of 9/11. A horrific tragedy in the life of America, that even today is hard to wrap our minds around. Yet, a memorial is made on the sight of ground zero which is really an expression of Han. A positive expression of the pain and grief we continue to share, that in some small way, allows us to focus our grief, pain, and sorrow, into a reminder that we remember the past, but cling to the future because of hope.

Please note that in no way am I saying the events of 9/11 and this camping situation are anywhere near the same level of grief and pain. Lives were lost in 9/11 and is thus infinitely more severe.   

As a pastor I want to offer a chance to express our collective Han in a positive way together. I know that the recent camping decision in our Missouri Annual Conference leaves many of us with a deep wound that perhaps has not found voice. I have read many blogs and comments arguing if the right decision was made or not. I have not found, however, a space where we can express our grief in away, that can provide hope collectively.

Some of you are more than ready to give voice to your pain and others are not yet. For some we may respond creatively, and for others we may respond with a simple prayer. It may be a poem, a song, a drawing, a play-dough sculpture, a picture of you in a camp shirt, of whatever form seems appropriate to you. Simply post your response in the comments and let us express our Han together so that we may be in solidarity with one another, regardless of if we support the decision or not. For we are United Methodists; so may we be united once more in this. May we support one another through our expression of Han so that we may continue to comfort one another. This is not an ending, of your pain, but merely an avenue by which it may find voice. I pray this forum allows you to feel heard and seen (at least by a community of support)

I will start:

Here is a picture of a cross given to me by a man here in Kennett. It was found in the basement of woman's house where it sat for nearly a decade. It is a cross made from Arizona cactus wood. The green outer skin fell away after the cactus died and the holes are where the spikes used to be. Someone along the line cut it to make it into the shape of the cross. I present it as a promise that in Christ all things are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is my prayer that through it all, Jesus Christ may bring a new sense of hope and peace to each of us.
 






If you are not able to express your pain in any creative way, I leave you with this fantastic blessing from scripture in Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words." May the Spirit intercede even when words fail us.