Shattered:

He gazed at her lovingly. She was like a bird with a broken wing. So much sorrow and pain contained in one body. So broken, so shattered, so delicate, so very flawed. So very human.

So beautiful.

He wondered what happened to her. What was it that turned her into a shadow of the loveliness that she once was. He wondered who was responsible for breaking her. Because that’s how she seemed to him. Broken and vulnerable.

Unbidden a male instinct rose within him. Protectiveness and a desire to shield her from pain. He wanted to be the medicine, the cure for her sorrow. He decided that he would heal her, he thought he could save her.

He called her day and night. He checked on her every now and then. And slowly the wall of protectiveness and mistrust that she had built around herself crumbled. She started speaking, confiding deep, dark secrets that she had harbored for so long, too long.

He reveled in the knowledge of her being, every time she spoke he felt himself grow closer to her. Her past came tumbling out and he put the pieces of the puzzle together. He encouraged her slowly and watched with pride as she learnt to live again. Prouder than a father who watched his baby’s first steps.

She started smiling once more. The brokenness was fading, the past was getting cleansed. He instilled hope within her.

His pity and empathy morphed into an emotion that he didn't recognize. He had gotten so close to her, life seemed impossible without her. Every day he missed her, even when she was with him. His soul ached for her, his being yearned for her affection. The hole in his heart grew wider, an ache that could not be satisfied. He loved her.

She was healed. She could walk once more on her own. She needed him no longer. 

He had tried to heal her. But now he was scarred.

He was broken.

He needed to be healed.

********************************************************************************

An all too familiar story?

The temptation to heal another exists every moment. Witnessing the brokenness of a person can instinctively cause you to want to take away their pain, to help, to save.

Unfortunately you can’t help. You can’t save them. And you definitely cannot heal them. Not as long as you think that it’s you doing the mending. You have to take yourself out of the equation. There is nothing you can accomplish with your own power.

Every human being has been given a certain amount of happiness, peace and joy. And your lot is enough to keep you happy in life. However when you decide to save someone else or heal someone else you inevitably end up scarred yourself. Because humans can only transfer joy, they can’t multiply it. We are like leeches, sucking the happiness out of each other leaving both parties unsatisfied.

You can transfer your happiness to them. But then you will lose your peace. Someone else might come along to mend your brokenness. And in the process you might snatch away their bliss. And this vicious cycle will continue. It won’t work, your efforts are in vain. Because no matter how hard you try you can’t heal and you definitely cannot save. 

Because you are not God. Stop trying to play God.

Only He can heal, only He can save. Only He can multiply. He can heal through you. And if you let Him you will not lose your serenity in the process. Be a willing instrument and allow Him to multiply your joy, your bliss, your happiness and spread it to others. He will make you a channel of His peace.

And others will be healed. Not by you, but through you.

By Him.