When my family and I first returned from a season of intense travel over three years back to Singapore, I was acutely disoriented.
With a newborn and toddler, the reverse cross-cultural stress of adjusting back to Singaporean life was unsettling, especially as a young mother.
When an unfamiliar, older Christian leader approached me and asked why I was not attending cell group, I looked at her, bleary-eyed, and explained that jetlag, broken nights of sleep from early motherhood and moving into our fourth rental home in two years had taken its toll on me. I was burnt out.
“But if you don’t attend cell, your children will fall away from God. You should find a better way to parent. We are here to support you so you can attend cell every week.”
I looked at her, my face drained of colour. After a series of hurts I’d accumulated from Christian communities in various countries we had lived and served in, something in me broke.
For weeks, I wept over the incident. I left her cell group and did not return.
—
Having been hurt by the Church before, I can empathise with those who are burnt out from serving, struggling to belong or simply feeling tired of chasing after their young kids in service.
One day, at a visit to my occupational therapist, a revelation hit me like a ton of bricks. At once, the answer to the diverse variations of the same question became crystal clear.
When we’ve been hurt by the Church, how should we rest and rehabilitate from our injuries so that we can come back stronger as a member of the body of Christ?
Read full article here: https://www.kitedreams.org/article-collection/what-if-church-hurts