There’s just no way to live into adulthood without getting wounded in some form or fashion. It’s part of God’s plan for growing you up. Until you experience something less than the ideal, something other than getting your way, you can’t be of any use to your fellowman or God.
Don’t go seeking wounds. But don’t try to hide behind the hurt that’s left you unsure of yourself and your position in the world.
Writer and priest, Richard Rohr writes the following in his book, Falling Upward:
“It has been acceptable for some time in America to remain ‘wound identified’ (that is, using one’s victimhood as one’s identity, one’s ticket to sympathy, and one’s excuse for not serving), instead of using the wound to ‘redeem the world,’ as we see in Jesus and many people who turn their wounds into sacred wounds that liberate both themselves and others.”
Your hurt and disappointment can be overcome. It’s the you that remains after the overcoming that encourages and helps others.
Rohr also quotes Carl Jung. “Where you stumble and fall there you find pure gold.”