THE ART OF QUIET COMEBACKS: Part 22. The Rhythm of Restoration

Part 22. The Rhythm of Restoration

A series about starting over gently, honestly, and without apology

Healing is a process; it’s not a one-time event. It’s not a single moment of crossing a finish line. Healing is a rhythm; a pattern, a flow we must learn to move with. It’s a daily process of returning, a choice we must quietly make everyday. Healing is that gentle strength, that willingness to start over.

In this process called Healing, there will be days of feeling whole again. Days where you feel steady, firm and even shocked by the peace resonating deep within your soul. However, on the flip side, there will be days where the pain of your wound will come rushing like a wind, the heartache you thought had healed resurfaces. At that moment, your confusion blends with anxiety, and you begin to doubt you’re healing. Several thoughts begin to flood your being, thoughts like:

“Is this a relapse?
“Could this be that I’m sliding backwards?
“I don’t think I’m healing. 

"I’m a failure.”

Dear reader, that pain doesn’t mean you’ve failed; it’s simply proof that you’re human, you’re still in the process of becoming, you’re in the process of being shaped.

Restoration is rhythmic, it’s not a process to be rushed. Just like a breath, restoration rises, it falls and rises again. Just like a tide, it moves in waves, it then retreats but comes back again. Restoration is a movement of grace, it meets you where you are, and wherever it meets you never makes it disappointed. Grace is never tired of meeting you repeatedly, even when it keeps meeting you at the same spot. What matters is the fact that it’s always ready to restore.

Psalm 23:3 is one scripture that talks about grace, stressing the fact that God restores our souls.

Healing isn’t something to be forced, so don’t try to force anything. Restoration is a process, don’t force it. It’s not something to be earned, and you don’t have to prove the pace of your healing to the world. How fast you heal is not something you’re obligated to showcase. There’s only one thing you’re meant to do, and that is to remain in rhythm with the One (God) who can restore you. The only thing you’re required to do is to show up and keep showing up. Grace is capable and willing to hold your hands. Yours is just to keep opening them so they can be held.

The Sound of Restoration

Restoration is a process, to remain in that process, let’s discuss 4 Rs that helps us know what restoration sounds like.

1.     Rest

Stop worrying about what happened. Restoration doesn’t thrive amid worries, neither does peace take root amidst anxiety. You must give yourself rest. When you focus on the pain, you will keep living in it. There’s nothing you can do to undo the past. There’s no quantity of thoughts that can change what has happened. If you don’t give yourself rest, then you don’t want to live on the path of restoration.

2.     Receive

Don’t close your heart to kindness, it’s essential to your healing. It’s a necessity on the path of restoration. Allow yourself to receive kindness and comfort. Allow the truth to reach you in love. Receive love, don’t chase it away.

3.     Release

If you don’t let go, you’re choosing to be trapped. You must let go of what you were never meant to carry. Let go of the hurt, let go of the heartache, drop the guilt, let the pressure you’re feeling be blown away. Let go of the past and let it remain there. If you allow the past to take the wheel of your life, it will keep driving you backwards; to the past, because that’s the only direction and destination it knows. Never let your life be past driven. The past is a weight that drags you, let it go, if you really want to move forward. Let go, so your life can move forward. If you don’t let go, you can’t let progress come in.

4.     Repeat

If you really want true healing, then you must keep returning to the rhythm of restoration. It doesn’t matter how often you return. The number of times you return doesn’t matter, what matters is the fact that you returned so you can be on track for your restoration. The moment you notice you’re going off track, please return. There’s no limit with grace.

The rhythm of restoration isn’t about perfection, it’s all about presence. It’s ensuring your life is in sync with mercy, giving mercy and receiving it. Sometimes you don’t have to feel restored, you just must trust the process. Trust restoration is occurring even if you don’t feel it. You must learn to believe that God is actively working even in quiet moments that you cannot sense, feel or see.

Reflect on the Following:

1.     Can you boldly say restoration is a part of your daily living?
2.     What does restoration look like (practically, emotionally and spiritually) in your daily routine?
3.     What area of your life are you resisting rest and what is that resistance trying to protect?
4.     Are you ready to receive grace again today?
5.     Are you ready to receive grace, not as a concept, but as something personal, something real?

PLEASE, DON’T MISS THE FINAL PART OF THIS SERIES. We’re gradually approaching the end of the series.

Remember, JS Havilah cares about you, yes, you!

Part 23 of THE ART OF QUIET COMEBACKS is quietly on its way.

Come back for every installment.
Come back to remember you are not alone.
Come back, not to catch up, but to catch your breath.

Still becoming,

JS Havilah