I’ve heard people talk about and label themselves and other individuals that have endured some type of traumatic event and having trouble getting beyond the tragedy as being “Broken.”

As I think about the definition of broken: having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order; (of a person) having given up all hope; despairing. These words can have a life threatening effect on someone that believes that they are broken. Who wants to live like that, being labeled as nonfunctional?

I’ve come to believe that people aren’t broken…they’re emotional. We need to throw out these popular sayings and see people and things as they are. When God created man, he created us whole. Nothing broken, nothing lacking. People that are considered broken are seen as fragile and needing careful handling. With some being fit for nothing other than to be thrown away; they’re irreparable. What do you think?

I don’t know about you but I’ve experienced some things in my life I thought I’d never make it through. I felt like giving up. But there was something that kept me from sinking in despair. When we experience traumatic events in our lives they don’t break us, they make us emotional.

You have a right to experience emotions. God gave them to you. Validate your emotions as they appear. Don’t ignore them, acknowledge them. If you have experienced some life altering event you are free to feel what you feel. This doesn’t just apply to things that bring you joy but to the things that have brought you pain as well. Don’t run from your pain. If you run from it, it’ll only meet you at another place in your life. You’ll have to confront it eventually or you’ll be stuck at that event in your life as everything else moves forward. Whatever trauma you may have experienced whether it was abuse, abandonment, betrayal, molestation, rape…etc, no matter what it was or is, know this to be true, “You are NOT broken”…you are emotional and you have a God given right to feel the way you feel. You also have a responsibility to cope with them and be truthful not misapplying them or using them as an excuse to behave erratically.

As we dawn the close of another year, I contemplate what I’ve experienced and what I’ve learned…about Me!  This year has been one of many highs and lows. I experienced health, sickness, happiness and fear. I can go on and on but one thing is evident to me, I’m not broken…I’m emotional!

Commit to becoming emotionally healthy and a good start is by acknowledging you’re not broken.

Be Encouraged…Be Blessed…Be Enriched…Be Authentically You!