He Heals the Brokenhearted

by Elizabeth Stewart

Some years ago on our last night of vacation, I asked my husband if we could go to the beach one last time and stay long enough to catch the sunset. While he got settled in his beach chair and engrossed in a book, I decided to walk down the beach to the jetty. It was on my way back to where my husband was sitting that I saw a pelican standing there on the sand. I walked right up to snap his picture. He didn't fly away. He didn't run into the sea. It was then that I suspected something was wrong with it. I stayed awhile trying to shoo him and to see if I could tell what was wrong. He waddled closer to the water. Suddenly, a wave came and knocked the pelican onto its back. It flailed there in the surf, its neck stretched out, its wings flailing in the water, fighting but not able to turn upright. My stomach felt nauseous watching it. I thought it was going to drown right before my eyes. When the waves subsided it managed to get upright and to get back onto the sand. It just stood there, immobile. I finished walking back to my husband and told him about the pelican. He went to look for himself and came back reporting that he could see a fish hook in the pelican's head. I felt helpless, not knowing the 911 to call for birds that need emergency assistance. We watched the sunset and left the beach, leaving the poor pelican there in the sand. The next day we flew home.

On the following Sunday morning, the whole memory of the pelican came back. The Lord used the vivid picture of the struggling pelican to speak to my heart about hooks. Hooks in our lives can be  things such as unhealed hurts, unmet needs and unresolved issues. The things that have broken our heart can become hooks if they aren't dealt with and allowed to heal. These hooks can affect our ability to handle the storms in life that come our way, Even the smaller waves that we should be able to sail through seem to bowl us over and knock us down. We feel we will surely drown if we get hit by one more wave. We flail and we fight, but we just can't seem to get on our feet and we surely can't fly. We need Someone to help us. We need Someone who knows how to remove hooks. We need someone we can trust enough to surrender ourselves to while He removes the hooks.

First, we have to acknowledge that the hook is there. It could be the unhealed hurt of a betrayal, a cruel or thoughtless word, abandonment or abuse.The hook got in and has festered and become infected allowing unforgiveness and bitterness to grow. It could be the hook of an unmet need - a mama who never held or hugged you, a daddy who never spoke the words, "I love you", a spouse who is cold or uncaring, a feeling of overwhelming loneliness. The gaping hole in your soul can become a hook. Maybe it's the hook of unresolved issues, closure that never came as someone you cared about just walked out of your life, a family member that you had a disagreement with and you haven't talked to in years, a child that left your home and hasn't looked back. Whatever the source of the hook, whatever the cause, Jesus already knows it is there. We are the ones who need to admit it. If we're not able to cope with life's wind and waves, if we can't remember the last time we soared, that may be an indicator that there could be a hook in our life.

Jesus is a specialist at healing hearts and removing hooks. He will lovingly and gently remove the hook and apply healing balm to the wound if you'll let Him. Our part is being willing to let Him, trusting Him and surrendering to His healing processes. I find that it takes time in His presence for this to happen, time in His Word, time in worship, and maybe even some time receiving godly counsel from a trustworthy person. One thing I'm sure of, God didn't create us to flail and struggle through life. He is willing and able to heal our broken hearts, remove any hooks that are hindering us and enable us to soar once again.

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