Page 22 - August 31 2020
P. 22
PAGE 22 MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2020 THE WEEKLY ANCHOR
T he Weekly ANCHOR
Faith
Revisiting a Difficult Place
I had to revisit a on a few occasions. mistake, as Jesus then asked Peter there, 3
difficult place this Once, when they were out fishing, he times in a row, if he loved him.
week. appeared and called to them from the shore. I think God sometimes allows us to revisit
A normal day took an When the realized who it was and came to places of hurt or failure, not to bring us more
unexpected turn and I him, he sat with them around another fire. pain, but to draw the pain to a place where
found myself walking It’s been suggested that this setting was no we can offer it to him.
into a room that held
traumatic memories
for me.
It caught me off
Pastor guard to realize that
Bryan Walter
just being in a certain
place could cause my blood pressure to
pound in my ears.
It took a moment to recover, and then I was
okay.
I was reminded again that grief is a journey
that often takes longer than we think it will,
and can surface at unexpected times.
God wasn’t caught off guard though; I
believe he knew I’d end up in that room, and
so took the opportunity to work for my good
in helping me process that pain. God is really
good at forgetting the pains and failures of
our past, but he’s also willing to bring them
to the surface if it still has some hold on us.
It makes me think of Peter; on the night that
Jesus was betrayed, as he was hauled before
the authorities for a sham trial, Peter slipped
into the courtyard outside to hide among the
servants and try to hear what was happening
to his Lord. It was there, standing with others
warming themselves around a fire, that he
denied Jesus 3 times. Later, after the
resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples
T he Weekly ANCHOR
Faith
Revisiting a Difficult Place
I had to revisit a on a few occasions. mistake, as Jesus then asked Peter there, 3
difficult place this Once, when they were out fishing, he times in a row, if he loved him.
week. appeared and called to them from the shore. I think God sometimes allows us to revisit
A normal day took an When the realized who it was and came to places of hurt or failure, not to bring us more
unexpected turn and I him, he sat with them around another fire. pain, but to draw the pain to a place where
found myself walking It’s been suggested that this setting was no we can offer it to him.
into a room that held
traumatic memories
for me.
It caught me off
Pastor guard to realize that
Bryan Walter
just being in a certain
place could cause my blood pressure to
pound in my ears.
It took a moment to recover, and then I was
okay.
I was reminded again that grief is a journey
that often takes longer than we think it will,
and can surface at unexpected times.
God wasn’t caught off guard though; I
believe he knew I’d end up in that room, and
so took the opportunity to work for my good
in helping me process that pain. God is really
good at forgetting the pains and failures of
our past, but he’s also willing to bring them
to the surface if it still has some hold on us.
It makes me think of Peter; on the night that
Jesus was betrayed, as he was hauled before
the authorities for a sham trial, Peter slipped
into the courtyard outside to hide among the
servants and try to hear what was happening
to his Lord. It was there, standing with others
warming themselves around a fire, that he
denied Jesus 3 times. Later, after the
resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples
