Jesus spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened."

"Now that it’s all said and done, I can’t believe you were the one to build me up and tear me down like an old abandoned house. I never saw it coming. I should’ve started running a long time ago. I’m slowly getting closure: I guess it’s really over. I'm finally getting better, and now I'm picking up the pieces. I’m spending all of these years putting my heart back together, 'cause the day I thought I’d never get through, I got over you." 

What are the ways to pick up the pieces when someone has hammered into shreds what you thought was good? What do you do when you are "blind-sided" by someone who destroys your dreams, especially when that "someone" was the love of your life, your soul-partner, your "one desire"? In terms of our culture's dating patterns, how do you get over a breakup when the mental pain is so great that it makes you want to give up on everything?

Picking up the pieces is not an easy task, and therefore there are no easy answers to the mental pain of a breakup. There are answers, of course, and just knowing that the answers will come is the hope that our human psyche must have. Chris Daughtry sings probably the best solution in his words: "I'm slowly getting closure." The word is "slowly," implying that the person in the once-upon-a-time relationship has to give it time. If we want to get over a love relationship, indeed, if we want to get over any traumatic experience that we have lived through, before any closure can set in, we have to give it time. We have to allow the days to come one after the other, while doing the things that we normally do.

Jesus knew about the proper use of time. When he told his stories that led to an understanding of his kingdom, he knew the growth of the kingdom would take time, and given a certain amount of time, the yeast of the kingdom would spread throughout the world, eventually leading people to a fuller life.

In North American culture, we tend to desire what we want "yesterday," that is, we want it right away, and we are impatient until we get it. With certain things that deal with the heart, with the way we want to grow, with things that are difficult, we need to take the time to let them develop. Jesus knew it about his kingdom; we should learn it as we grow within his kingdom.                   

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we deal so often with thoughts concerning the growth of life and love. Your Son taught us to take the time necessary for such thoughts to develop well. Help us give the time necessary to bring about the fuller life that we want. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America