HOPE For The Broken

Is there HOPE for the broken? For the hurting? For the lonely and confused? For the unmotivated, the busy and the tired? For the lost?

Back in 2016 I was able to attend to probably the biggest Catholic charismatic event of the year and in Singapore, no less: Kerygma Conference Asia. Every KCon is life-changing and I am just blessed that I was able to attend then. I still keep the learnings and realisations that I had then close to my heart.

This is actually one of the discussions that we had during one of the talks. There is HOPE for the broken.

And this is what HOPE stands for:

H

Honestly admit your feelings. 

We are all broken even when we are too stubborn to admit it ourselves. 

Being in denial will not only halt improvement but failing to grasp reality will not solve anything. We are stuck overthinking about things when we can do something about it. And when we are stuck we tend to settle. We are prone to giving up. 

We have to acknowledge our weaknesses to be able to turn it into our strengths.

It wasn't easy (I have been there, plenty of times). But what's the best way to start healing? To admit it. We are broken. And by being broken there is hope that one day we can be repaired and we can come back with a blast. 
And what do they say when you're all the way at the bottom? There is no other way but up.

O

Overflowing gratitude. 

Be awesome. Be grateful. Be blessed. Be the change you want to be in the world. Christi always reminds us back in her radio disc jockey days. And I think being grateful is something that should come as natural as breathing especially these days when everything seemed to be a proper mess. It gives us a perspective that everything will turn out okay in its time. It makes us hopeful. It lets us appreciate the things that we have. You'll be surprised to know that you probably have more than enough all along but you are too blinded by the worldly lust that is everywhere to even acknowledge how truly blessed you really are.

P

Push out negative thoughts. 

It is this dark place that we all tend to come back even when we will ourselves not to. It is the monster that we hide behind the strong facade that if we fail to acknowledge, we nurture and it will eventually eat us alive. It is this balloon of extreme anxiety and emotion that is almost always on the verge of explosion. How are we going to push them all out?

• By sticking together. One should not face the cruel world alone. 

• By praying and keeping Him close.

• By focusing on the positive side of things and working towards improving it.

• By being perceptive.

• By pursuing our hearts desire before it is too late.

• By being realistic without losing our ideals.

And lastly,

E

Embrace your "now". 

"If you are broken, you don't have to stay broken", Selena Gomez has said in her American Music Awards speech once and I cannot believe I am actually quoting her but it is all true. 

We do not need any validations from anyone. Not anymore. We don't need one-sided relationships and friendships that suck all the happiness inside us.

We don't owe explanations to anyone for being ourselves or for what they can understand based on the level of their perceptions.

We only have to be ourselves, to move forward and celebrate what we have in the now.