We Play a Part in Our Own Healing

Healing is often something we pray for, hope for, and wait on—but over the last ten years has reminded me that we also participate in it. We play a part in our own healing, and that role requires intention, courage, and honesty. Healing doesn’t happen by accident, and it doesn’t come simply with the passing of time. Time may soften the edges of pain, but it is what we choose to do within that time that shapes true restoration.

God is our healer, but He often invites us into the process rather than removing us from it. There is a partnership between divine grace and personal responsibility. Prayer matters deeply—but so do the steps we take when God reveals what needs to change. Healing begins when we stop avoiding the pain and start acknowledging it.

Playing a part in our healing means showing up for ourselves even when it’s uncomfortable. It means naming what hurt us instead of minimizing it. It means recognizing patterns that no longer serve us and having the courage to choose differently. Healing asks us to stop waiting for apologies we may never receive and to stop placing our peace in the hands of people who may not know how to protect it.

There is humility in admitting our need for God, and there is obedience in responding to what He asks of us. Sometimes healing looks like prayer and surrender. Other times it looks like boundaries, rest, or walking away. Sometimes it looks like forgiveness, and other times it looks like allowing ourselves to grieve what was lost. Each step matters. Each choice carries weight.

We play a part in our own healing when we choose not to remain stuck, when we allow God to renew our minds and soften our hearts, and when we trust that tending to our wounds is not a lack of faith but an expression of it. Healing is not instant, and it is rarely linear—but when we partner with God and take responsibility for our growth, restoration becomes not only possible, but purposeful.

—Wendy