Integrate what?
Our foot hurts, and we go to the podiatrist.
Our heart palpitates, and we go to the cardiologist.
Our joints hurt, and we go to the rheumatologist.
A mother speaks what has been spoken to her: “Hush those tears, or I’ll give you something to cry about.”
An elder tells his member to study the Scriptures more when struggling with depression.
A well-meaning friend tells you at the funeral of your loved one: “She is in a better place. The Lord knows what is best”.
You ignore the sensation in your shoulders and chest each time you talk to a particular friend, having no idea why you would feel that way.
All of these are examples of the way our cultures and traditions and families have contributed to us thinking and functioning in disintegrated ways. We have tendencies to compartmentalize. We have biases against emotions. We have theologies that are Americanized. We have ways we hurt people and don’t realize why. Often, we have not done our own work of deeply applying the gospel into the everyday thoughts and feelings and experiences of our own bodies in connected ways. And as a result, we reek unknown havoc in our souls and on the souls of others.
Not so with the Trinity. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have a beautiful dance of oneness. They are ebbing and flowing in this mysterious triangle of relationship of awareness and knowing and loving. And we are invited to come be a part of that unity, abiding and finding life in the wholeness of the Goodness. Our beings have a similar trinity. We are mind and body and soul, and they are all very interconnected.
When Joseph’s father, Israel, died in Egypt the entire nation shut down and grieved for 40 days. David had only the Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible, to study, and yet he produced the Psalms that are full of worship, lament, praise, and emotion. He had a fully embodied experience and relationship with God, not just doctrines and concepts. The Gnostics made much of the separation of the material and the immaterial, elevating the latter, but Paul was quick to teach that while this seems “more spiritual” and of higher value, it is actually a dangerous fallacy. Jesus didn’t rebuke people for wanting healing. He met them where they were, encouraging their faith, their bodies, and their emotional engagement in relationship. He commissioned sacraments like baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be physically embodied experiences to participate with Him.
Most Americans have a lot of growing to do in the way we think about these things. We need not compartmentalize our childhoods in order to “put the past behind you” and press forward. Instead, we let our stories inform us of the ways we think and feel and approach life. From there, we can grow into a healthier, more mature way of living. While we know the Scriptures teach us to renew our minds, this is not simply an intellectual and cognitive function because Truth is an integrative reality. Is our faith what we know, or is it what we do? The Scriptures actually teach that it is both and that what matters is “faith expressing itself through love.” So then, we could argue if someone is not being loving, they aren’t actually believing truth at all.
At Integrate, we want to integrate toward wholeness in mind and body and soul – to be able to love and be loved with the whole love God shows us. We are on our own journey toward wholeness, and we are delighted to help you do the same. And we are convinced that as you do so, the fullness you will experience toward healing is worth the work.
Toward wholeness,
Shan