One of the real drawing cards for an Inside Out program is the possibility for experiencing a magical, even miraculous breakthrough moment for participants as well as for those who are assisting on a leadership team. I have heard over the years, many of the team leaders say, ‘I show up for the miracles.’ It’s an interesting declaration but what does it actually mean to have a magical or miraculous experience in a program?
One of the ways to identify these moments is to talk about that fact that there are no coincidences in the workshop room. It is another one of those commonly heard statements from team members who are on the lookout for magical moments. I truly believe that every person that walks through the doors on Friday is there for a reason and if you are really paying attention you will have the opportunity to witness a divine orchestration taking place throughout the weekend. I call this divine orchestration, the dancing hand of God. There are moments in every program where I see clearly a spotlight of unique attention shifting from one participant to another. When that spotlight is on it usually uncovers an issue that has been hiding internally and is in need of healing and release. It is in that critical moment that the participant has a potentially life changing decision to make. If they make the more difficult choice and open up and acknowledge these hidden issues and own them as self sabotaging, then they become a candidate to experience a personal breakthrough. I see individuals experiencing these personal breakthroughs when their body language and facial expression changes right before my eyes. It is a combination of realization and release that is truly magical to watch.
Another way that we witness this kind of divine orchestration is to observe a divine appointment. This is where two individuals come together in a program with a very special gift to share with one another. Usually, they have not met before the program but they share a common story or common experience that draws them together. I had the privilege to witness one of the most amazing divine appointments that I have seen in years this past Connections Program. And, with the permission of the two individuals and without using their names, I would like to tell you a little of their story.
One of the individuals was a participant going through the program and the other was on the leadership team. Their magical moment took place when the participant realized that the team leader was someone who shared a common experience with a man who had victimized each of them at different times in their lives. After the participant quite remarkably connected the dots and realized that the team leader was a person they had heard about for years but not met, she approached her and asked if she was in fact the person who had lived with the victimizer years before her. The team leader said that she was and in that moment both individuals were profoundly rocked by the realization.
The value of this divine appointment began to come into focus as the team leader shared her story of abuse with the entire group and identified how she had overcome the impact of abuse through healing and growth. One of the keys to her recovery was through understanding and embracing the importance of forgiving her abuser. In her words, forgiveness was something she had done for her, not him, and was a way that she could let go of him and his behavior. It did not condone what he had done but it was a means of putting it behind her.
The problem for the participant was she was still carrying a lot of resentment, bitterness and hurt and it was still negatively impacting her life today. She was still feeling very stuck in her past. Once she was able to acknowledge being stuck in her pain I provided her an opportunity to step into a forgiveness exercise. As she stood before the group she made a conscious choice to forgive her abuser and to begin to let go of the hurt that she had been carrying for years. The team leader shared after the forgiveness exercise, that she was able to acknowledge once again the person that they both had been abused by and take that moment to reaffirm her forgiveness, healing and growth. It is not easy revisiting old wounds but it does provide you with an opportunity to check in with yourself and see how far you have progressed in your healing and to recommit to living your life in the present and not in the past.
It is really remarkable to see how one person has been on a healing journey for years and how they are able to encourage and support the participant who is just now coming to terms with the importance of forgiveness and letting go of anger, resentment and bitterness. Forgiveness and healing is much more a process than an event and takes constant reinforcement. It takes time, however, when you experience a divine appointment it makes it easier to trust that process and embrace the hope that you are not alone working through your pain.
I know that it is not always easy to step into that room to do the hard work of personal development, but when you do, you put yourself in position to discover that there are no coincidences.
What are you willing to do to put yourself in a position to experience your next personal miracle?
Terry
