
“That’s heartbreaking,” he said
After hearing her story.
“Yes, it is,” she said back
With a dramatic smile on her face –
Which was only to cover up
The actual brokenness of her heart
That came leaking out
The moment the door was
Closed behind them.
She didn’t know why
She always fell for the ones
Who didn’t love her back –
Why her stories were full of
The shadows of all
She held dear,
But that always danced away
When she got too close.
She didn’t know why
Her life felt like a
Series of closing doors,
Tear-stained pillows,
Painful secrets,
Pasted smiles,
And shattered dreams.
And oh, how emotionally exhausted
Her heart, her eyes, her smile
Had become those many years.
A story told within mere minutes
Could never fully encapsulate
The hours, months, years
Of dreaming, hoping, waiting,
Weeping, praying, and resigning.
She’d worked so hard not to be seen
As tragic, pitiable, and rejected –
But when they said her story was
Heartbreaking,
Her heart began to crumble
All the more
As they shared in her pain
If even for a moment.
There’s no use in pretending
We’re not human
And that pain doesn’t
Seep out of our pores sometimes.
Because we are, and it does.
And we need the ones
Who understand and who care
And who wrap us up
In the love we so desperately need.
So let us keep whispering
Our stories of hurt and pain,
Loneliness and disappointment
To the ones who care –
Because though we might feel rejected,
And though our hearts might be broken,
These are the ones who are here for us
To help bind our wounds
And be an extension
Of the love of God himself.
He has never forgotten us,
And his heart is breaking with ours
In the silent hours that no one else can see.
And he has given us fellow pilgrims
To weep with us and love us still
When we feel the most forgotten about.
Let us cling to this light
When the darkness presses in.
We are not alone.
God is with us and for us.
And there is always hope
For tomorrow.
Photo by Jake Colling on Unsplash.