Finding Miracles at Our Breaking Point

SUPERHEROES OF OLD

We all need someone to look up to, like a role model who challenges us to be a better version of ourselves. While I was very little, my role models were characters from movies and TV shows. First, I was drawn to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Their vigilance in facing crime and fighting for the innocent —in their turtle-form—was appealing and entertaining. Later, my role model became none other than Superman himself. He remained my favorite hero for many years not only because he would fight injustice without killing, but because of his character; bold, compassionate, and confident. As humans, we want to connect with role models because they represent the transcendence of the flawed nature of humanity, which is to live into a higher calling; to be someone special. Why else do we consider these super-hero characters “larger than life“?

THE REAL SUPERHERO

After I discovered Jesus in my life in my twenties, He became my role model, which is when I had a perspective shift in what it really means to live larger than life. 

Before I accepted Christ, life for me was without a purpose. What mattered to me at the time was validation and closure, which I found in the likings of music from Korn, Linkin Park, and Marilyn Manson. They validated my anger and fear after the shock of my parents’ divorce. Looking back, I’m aware God allowed the trauma to grab me from behind because He knew the aftermath.

After the divorce, my dad grew quiet and uninvolved with me, and I didn’t know what to make of it at the time. I witnessed him experience pain in a way I’d never seen him before, followed by the death of his parents only weeks before Christmas of the same year. Mom was also experiencing her own depression, and all the changes taking place took a toll on our relationship. Our family seemed to be crawling through Hell, and I couldn’t make sense of a loving God from that. I was afraid because I felt alone, without any answers as to how to keep going.

Years later, after exhaustive amounts of time spent in this malady, I was not only desperate for a reason to be alive, but to understand why I was desperate. I found it intriguing in such a morbid way that I wouldn’t kill myself, and yet, I kept asking myself what life was really for.

Was Jesus speaking through to me even though I wasn’t listening yet? Did the fact that I stayed alive despite multiple attempts to die have anything to do with the miraculous power that He had over my surroundings; encouraging me, even at bare minimum, that there was something worth living for? How can I, looking back, not acknowledge Jesus at work in my life at a time when I was not believing, surrendering, or reaching out to Him for help? How can I not say that wasn’t the intervention of a loving, Supreme Being who knows me better than I know myself?  

MY PRAYER FOR YOU

What I believe, because of my experiences—is that the second Jesus knew I was ready with a softened heart, He flooded Himself into my life. I write this to you so you’ll know you’re not alone in your pain. God sees you and wants to help you.

My prayer is that you would find peace, even in your pain; that you would find the grace from God to forgive those who’ve hurt you, and peace inside from the trouble you’re facing. Jesus is the reason I keep going, and I pray He will be yours. When you can’t feel His closeness, I pray you will seek Him by name. I believe in His love, even when I’m too rigid in my shame to receive it from Him. May you find it in yourself to seek Him above all the rest of your priorities in life, and that you would ask Him to restore you.

Often I reminisce just to look over the differences in my life since I accepted Christ, and every time I do, I realize how blind I was when I was closed off from Jesus. I understand it all happened in its own timing according to God’s will. He knew how long I’d need to accept Him, but He didn’t push harder than He knew He should.

Jesus’s love, and the hope which comes from His resurrection, brings me more satisfaction than anything this world has to offer. May God bless you as you choose to search for Him and may you recognize His goodness, even in your pain. 

CONNECT WITH ME

If you resonated with this article and would like to read more, please follow this blog, and please share this with anyone. You may also find me my Facebook page at Lance Price Blog, Twitter at LancePriceBlog, Instagram at lancepriceblog, Pinterest at LancePriceBlog, or on Tumblr at lancepriceblog. Feel free to leave any thoughts or feelings regarding this article in the comments below, or write me privately using my Contact page. May God bless you, readers!

Gone

Photo by Jose A.Thompson on Unsplash

19 thoughts on “Finding Miracles at Our Breaking Point”

      1. That’s okay. 🙂 I really liked it, especially the will to share such a powerful journey. The line I quoted above partly inspired me to write today’s poem post!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Lance, thank you for your honest post. It’s amazing how looking back on our lives we can find Him though we may not have been aware at the time. May the Lord bless your writing ministry and use it to reach others who are where you were.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Deb, your words mean so much to me. Thank you so much for reading this! Yes, it is remarkable what hindsight is capable of, and how God reveals the truths of His working hands in our lives where we least expected to find His glory at play. I deeply appreciate your comment. May God bless you and meet you where you are every step of your journey, bringing you closer to Him in every moment.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I was lost to the world not too long ago. I’ve experienced the same kind of life-giving that Jesus’ love is…and its freeing! I’m married now, but the Lord has had to undo a lot of my previous thoughts about love and relationships that this world had corrupted me with. Its been a learning process, but a great one! …Thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for sharing, Nicki. I appreciate your comment and you taking the time to read this article. God knows what we need and how we need it, I do believe that. It sounds like He’s working in you in the ways you need, even if it takes time and isn’t always the easiest journey. The easiest journeys aren’t really always the best ones. 🙂 God bless! Keep up the great writing!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Thank you for sharing this, I to at one time was way lost. I was raised in a semi religious home but when my parents divorced I went way down the wrong road. Between my Grandmothers constant prayers and a few very large wake up calls I got myself back to where I needed to be . God had a plan for me and I think some of my trials were so I could be where I am now and able to help and do the things he ask of me. Thanks for linking up with Literacy Musing Mondays hop! Hope to see you next week. And have a great week,
    Connie

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Connie, thank you for sharing that about yourself. It seems God works in mysterious ways, but His ways are always meant to lead us back to Him (or to Him for the first time). Truly, our darkest adversities can be blessings in disguise.
      I’m so glad we could link up! Looking forward to seeing more of you. Hope you had a blessed Resurrection Day!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m absolutely humbled that you would feature this article on your site. Thank you for reading! It means so much to me—I am always relieved when I am told an article of mine had a positive impact on someone who happened to stop by. God bless you!

      Liked by 1 person

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