The Houses of Healing

"Then Aragorn stooped and looked in her face, and it was indeed white as a lily, cold as frost, and hard as graven stone. But he bent and kissed her on the brow, and called her softly, saying: 'Eowyn Eomund's daughter, awake! For your enemy has passed away!'

She did not stir, but now she began again to breathe deeply...Once more Aragorn bruised two leaves of athelas and cast them into steaming water...as the sweet influence of the herb stole about the chamber it seemed to those who stood by that a keen wind blew through the window, and it bore no scent, but was an air wholly fresh and clean and young, as if it had not before been breathed by any living thing and came new-made from snowy mountains high beneath a dome of stars, or from shores of silver far away washed by seas of foam.

'Awake, Eowyn, Lady of Rohan!' said Aragorn again, and he took her right hand in his and felt it warm with life returning. 'Awake! The shadow is gone and all darkness is washed clean!' " (Tolkien, The Return of the King)

It has not been hard for many of us to make high and lofty resolutions regarding this two-thousand-and-tenth year of our Lord: noble determinations to throw ourselves headlong into the Kingdom work that lies at hand; to storm the gates of Hell itself if need be; to spend and be spent in the service of the King. Who can disagree with such glorious intentions? After all, we are dutiful children of the Western worldview that prizes action above all other things.

But for most of us there is another kind of work that needs tending before we dare one more assault upon the kingdom of Darkness - a labor that goes mostly overlooked in our current society and, quite honestly, just as often ignored in the pop theology of the Western church that is so quick to bid the lame man to rise, pick up his mat, and walk even before anything has been done about his condition:

We need to be healed.

And that's not going to happen until we stop pretending that we are fine.

It's not necessarily arrogance or ignorance (although sometimes it is both) that has us pretending that we are fine when we are actually deeply hurting, wounded and broken. No - mostly it is just a false dichotomy, an inaccurate metaphor, a cultural driveness and machismo, and a silly religious misunderstanding of our situation. Pop theology says that we are to put God first, others second, and ourselves last of all. It's pretty 'spiritual' sounding advice, we'll admit. But the problem with 'pop' theology is that it rarely admits the deep convolutions and contradictions of life, or the way that all things are tied together into a unified whole that is not so easily divided.

As warriors, we see things differently. We know that even a small hurt, if taken into battle, may open oneself unneccesarily to a grave danger not risked by one in perfect health. A stroke that might have been only a glancing blow becomes a mortal wound. A weary arm cannot hold the shield, nor strike true, long enough to finish the mission. Brothers who trusted in your strength to guard their flanks may find themselves alone at the front, fighting a desperate battle they never would have entered had they known that your strength would so easily fail.

Simply put, you cannot put "others before yourself" until you have taken the time with yourself to find the healing that you need.

We know that this advice doesn't sound much like what you've come to expect from "The Warrior's Path". But we are convinced that this year could not start out any other way than with these words to you, this encouragement to take you healing seriously. Most of you will overlook this, you know. Sitting out of the battle, stepping back from the craziness of life: that's just not the way we think around here, is it?

But it needs to be.

We need to give each other permission to do this.

We need to give each other time to do this.

We need to be willing to see a lot of other "important" things go undone in order to make this our priority.

Oh, for a brotherhood of individuals, a true fellowship of the heart, whose love and concern for one another could be seen in gathering together to ask the question not: "What can you accomplish for us and for the Kingdom?" but rather: "What in you needs healing, and how can we help you seek it?"

Eowyn, The White Lady of Rohan, and Faramir, last of the Stewards of Gondor, were both held back from journeying to the Black Gate of Mordor in order to join in the final battle for the fate of Middle Earth. Against their will and against their hearts, they instead remained in the Houses of Healing, allowing their wounds to be tended and cared, until at last they were whole and hale once more. It was there, in the Houses of Healing, that they were able to pass from beneath the shadow of darkness, and find life and love and a new day.

Let us all be willing to do the same.

Step out of the battle. Stop ignoring your wounds. If 2009 left you scarred, weary, and heartsore, let us be the ones who offer you permission to seek your healing as the highest priority in your life. Jesus is the Great Healer. The Father wants to see you healed. Your brothers and sisters need you to be healed, as do all those that you hope to fight for in the coming days. Get some counsel. Journal. Uncover the wounds to the light of day, so that infection will stop spreading. Seek healing prayer, and healing words. Let us know how we can share in this time of recovery.

Please.

For all our sakes.

A wounded warrior is a danger even to those he loves.

The doors to the Houses of Healing are thrown wide,

Derrick and David