Submitted photo
By ERIC GIRTEN
THE CATHOLIC KITCHEN
The Dioceses of Evansville and Owensboro recently partnered to host the first Life Giving Wounds retreat for adult children of divorce. It was a weekend filled with tears, laughter and God’s grace. For three days, strangers from many areas came together to walk this Christian path side-by-side in order to begin to – or continue to – find Christ’s healing in the wounds brought about by their parents’ divorces.
I was humbled by the raw honesty of those gathered as they delved into the shadows of their past, and I was equally taken aback by the compassion that arose to fend off those shadows. When I would happen upon those who were, only days earlier, unknown to one another and yet tending to each other’s spiritual and emotional trials, I couldn’t help but think of the spirit of the human person imitating, in its highest form, the Holy Spirit of God.
Submitted photo
The Life Giving Wounds team, led by Daniel Meola (who co-founded LGF with his wife Bethany), dropped in from various parts of the country at almost midnight the night before the retreat; poured themselves out for others for three days; and moved on the morning after the retreat. I have always held in high esteem those apostles and disciples of Christ who have, throughout the ages, traversed the globe spreading the Gospel message, leaving no stone unturned. And now, when I reflect on the travels of those early evangelizers, I will add these sojourners to that list.
From the LGW wedsite: “Divorce or separation can and does affect a person’s sense of identity, their faith life and relationship to God, their mental and physical health, their view of marriage, their own relationships and so much more.” Admitting this as a very real possibility is an important step toward reclaiming one’s true identity as beautiful, loved, unique and wonderful children of our God, who wants only to bring His children ever closer to Himself.
Depending on a variety of factors, some might feel a minimal long-term impact on their lives from the divorce of their parents; others may feel abandoned, confused, ostracized, identity-less. Some may push away from God who, in their minds, did not answer their prayers for intervention in their parents’ relationship; may find their only solace in God. It is the complexity of the human person that makes each of us an artistic masterpiece, and it is this same complexity that makes each of us complicated to understand. Sometimes, we must simply say “I don’t know,” and allow our wounded Redeemer into our own wounded-ness.
We all bear wounds that can push us away from our true selves as children of God, and I wish there was a quick cure for each – but knowing there is not. I do know, however, that healing took place for those who attended the Life Giving Wounds retreat on this weekend. I do know that God was present in a very real way on this weekend.
Let us all take a moment each day to pray for those who have wounds in their lives. Let us ask our wounded Redeemer to enter into those wounds in order to create healing. If we do this, we will eventually find that we have been praying for ourselves all along.