The Terrible Awful

Last night we were with some Christian friends in our small group Bible study. During our dinner conversation one woman mentioned a book she’s written in response to the trauma in her own life. All of us have bad things that happen to us by either our consequences or just because this life is hard. So I started thinking…

I love the book The Help. It was made it into a movie too, but as with most books made into movies, the book is better. The movie is done well, but you always get more details reading the book and watching the movie.

If you’re not familiar with the title, it is about black women who work for white women and a young white woman who wants to write a book about them and the unfairness of their lives. It’s a good book I recommend you read sometime.

In a part of the story one of the black women does something very bad. She calls it ‘the terrible awful.’ In this scene she says she told herself she’d never speak of it again, but she does in order for it to be written in the book.

We all have ‘terrible awfuls,’ don’t we? Whether it’s something we’ve done or something really traumatic that has happened to us. We don’t want to speak of them. We don’t want to remember them.

But unfortunately, they sometimes reappear. It’s like regurgitation. Bad things come back up. Maybe to help us remember how strong we are to have survived and endured. Perhaps it’s because we need to help others through their ‘terrible awful.’

Whatever your ‘terrible awfuls’ are, remember God can help you through them. People might be around you and want to help, but ultimately, it’s you and God.

You’re stronger than you think you are!