My 4 year old got his cast off today. In just 3.5 weeks his little broken leg is healed. While that to me is an incredibly impressive healing time, it really got me thinking as we adjusted our lives around this broken leg this last month.

It got me thinking about how we most always honor the (short or long) length of time it takes for physical hurts to heal. Most of the time we accept this and we adjust accordingly, even when it’s hard. We get stitches or crutches etc.

BUT

The unseen hurts? Forget about it. We don’t accept the time it takes for them to heal, if we even acknowledge them at all. We are told:

“Move on.”
“Get over it.”
“You’re just sad.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”

We don’t honor the process or often seek the same medical care when needed.

What feels broken inside of you right now, invisible or not, doesn’t have to feel broken forever. You are repairing and recovering. Like dealing with a physical injury, it will take time.

Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to be bleeding or oozing to need care. It is just as important to heal our hearts and our minds as it is to heal our bones and stitches. I would argue in some cases, it is even more important.

So, stop and breathe, and do what you need to for yourself. You are not broken.

You are healing.