Healing by Community (fb)

A recent Wall Street Journal article told the story of Lance Corporal Seth Voie- how he watched his best friend killed by a mine- how he dealt with the incredible loss- how the Marines are rethinking emotional trauma and how to best help men like Lance Cpl. Voie.

The devastation experienced by Lance Cpl. Voie in Afghanistan takes place in hearts and lives every day- the unexpected death of a loved one, the betrayal of a spouse, financial ruin.  Things that involve loss – loss that feels like total loss of everything.  How does one begin to rebuild, replace, relive…re-live…live again?

I wouldn’t pretend to know how most people, most cultures handle heart trauma- but have watched one particular people-group enough to have noticed a pattern.  They tend to linger in denial, over-spiritualize, retreat, isolate, and seek specialized individual treatment- usually in the form of paid counselors.  Sometimes there is an initial reaction of generosity in the form of food and cards, but by and large, the community tends to give space- content to wait until the grieving one reengages at their own pace, in their own way, if ever at all.  There is a general sense that healing is best left to trained professionals.  It’s not surprising, since this particular culture has generally embraced paid specialists for many of the significant parts of community life.

So what did the Marines do with a heartbroken Lance Corporal Voie?   “Sgt. Tippett and his men rallied around Lance Cpl. Seth Voie…There was no formal therapy, no group intervention, just casual conversations.  They shared stories of lost friends and gruesome moments.  They let him mourn, but refused to let him wallow in “why-him?” and “what –if?”  They kept him fighting.”  The Marines have been studying mental-health issues intently, referring to research that the Israeli military did in the 1980s.  “The latest research suggests troops handle battlefield stress better, and avoid post-war problems more often, when they heal among their comrades.”  “The closer they are to their buddies, and the company they trained and deployed with, the better chance you have of returning them to combat.”  The Marines are finding out that soldiers’ hearts heal best when they are quickly connected to their community and reengaged in their mission. 

All of the biblical material that describes this global community called Church jibes with the following in regards to trauma and healing:

-       Expect regular trauma at a deep heart level as a result of living in the “now but not yet”- we are an army at war and there will be casualties

-       Much of that trauma is relational and some can be avoided with an intense commitment to healthy relationships and aggressive conflict resolution “in the family”

-       The most dangerous thing a wounded person can do is to become isolated from their community

-       Healing should primarily take place in the context of community and mission.  Community is a group of people who do life together.  Mission is the lifestyle of the community called Church – it isn’t a meeting or an activity, it certainly isn’t formal “ministry.”  Under no circumstances should something involving a stage or a title be confused with mission- generally those things are hindrances to healing.

The Marines are discovering principles that a Creator built into our communal DNA.  Perhaps the next generation of American Christians will have the courage to love our wounded differently.

*  All quotes are from the article “Rx for Combat Stress: Comradeship”  Wall Street Journal April 2, 2011.