Take Your Time To Process Your Pain From Church Hurt

For some people, when they leave the church, it's no big deal.
But for others it is.

I can speak to this from my own experience.

I invested everything into the church. It was my family. I was deeply connected, deeply involved, deeply committed, and deeply in love.

Then the day came when I realized I could no longer be true to myself and stay. The pressure to leave was undeniable. Even though I initiated the step to leave, it felt like a rejection. No one said go. But the signals were all there that I was no longer welcomed, especially if I were to continue down the path I was walking.

Even though this happened years ago, in 2010, once in a while the pain still surfaces.  

My theory is that we process pain at the level we can cope with. Then it goes on hold for a while until we are capable of dealing with the pain at deeper levels. Like layers of an onion... with tears included.

The other day I had a dream that made it very clear to me that I have yet another layer of pain to process. It's hard and sad work, but I know it's necessary if I want to reach higher levels of happiness.

I bet you know what I'm talking about.

I drew this cartoon about church hurt to remind you that healing can take time and that's okay.