Often in thought and contemplation of Christ’s sacrifice, I can’t wrap my head around the magnitude of His love and sacrifice. I pray that He inspires me to truly value this eternal gift and never take it for granted. So, I began meditating on His willingness to be wounded. Bruised for our iniquities. Welcoming the cross and embracing death so that we might live. And yet we are called to be like Him. So, I contemplated the burdens and conflicts of life and wondered if I was willing to be wounded too? 

Maybe a soldier who fights for his country feels that willingness to be wounded for the cause. Maybe a bodyguard has a willingness to be wounded to protect his superior.  Maybe a psychiatrist has a willingness to receive the wounded words of his patients to help them solve problems. But if I’m honest, I’m not courageous enough to be willing to welcome the wounds. As I prayed about this shortfall, truly seeking understanding, the Lord gently opened my eyes to a way in which I am willing to be wounded…for my children. 

Mothers often take upon them the pain of their children. Is it because we somehow think we can remove or retract their pain? To take the burden off of their shoulders and carry it instead? Considering this, I do want my children to come to me with their problems and burdens so I can support them. In a small way, God showed me that I was willing to be wounded with them. 

“Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

The way a mother is willing to be wounded for her children because of her great love for them, can we foster that charity for others and bear their burdens as well? We start simple. We offer ourselves. Willing to listen. Willing to share the burden. Willing to feel the sadness. Willing to shoulder the pain. Willing to be wounded with them. That’s how we can show our love. That’s how we can show support. That’s how we can lift another’s burden. 

But we don’t just take the weight upon our shoulders in hopes that we have solved the problem or removed the affliction; we run to the Lord!  We ask Him to show us how to bear these burdens; pray to learn how to carry the weight; fast and petition Him to help heal the wounds and the bruises that we struggle to endure. 

Jesus was willing to be physically wounded for our sin. No greater love than this: He laid down His life for us to be called friends. While we may not think we are willing, we can share and emotionally bear the wounds of another by extending ourselves in love and support. 

Many of us are walking wounded, pained in silence, brokenhearted behind a smile.
How can we support one another in this walking-wounded state? Sometimes, just a small word or question reveals the deeper wounds lying just under the surface, so easily scraped open again as our hearts bleed.

You’re not alone in your pain. Your broken heart is not hidden from the Lord. He lives and works under the surface and can heal from the inside out. Isaiah 61:1 states: “…He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…”

Our flesh resists this burden-bearing process, and yet the spirit invites us to fulfill the law of Christ in doing so. As Christ was willing to be wounded for us, may we follow His lead and bear up one another in love and support so that we may help and heal together.