I have a friend who's going to have to have surgery and she wondered when she'd be strong enough to get back to her routine. She was concerned about how long she would be dependent on others, how long until the pain went away, how long until she felt back to herself again.
But having a surgery, or making any kind of significant change in our lives, changes more than just what was broken or what we left behind. It changes us. It makes us different. The Japanese art of Kintsugi is when artists put broken pottery pieces back together with gold. It makes the piece stronger, it looks different, but it is still beautiful. And so it is with struggles in our lives- breaking us down, breaking us apart, breaking our hearts, that when we pick ourselves up and we take a step forward, we are forever changed, but no longer broken.
So in assessing coming back from a surgery or coming out of heartbreak and trying to figure out when we will be back to normal, the answer is: you won't. What you were before, you are not anymore. You may be stronger. You may be able to connect more with others. You may be more appreciative of what your life looks like now. You are not broken, you are different, and you are beautiful.
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