There’s an Old Testament story that people always tell the wrong way. (According to me. 😂)

In the story, King David’s beloved child gets very, very sick. 

For 7 days, David refuses food. He prays and pleads with God for his son’s recovery. He wears sackcloth and sleeps on the floor, refusing all his normal luxuries and conveniences. 

And then the boy dies. 

David’s servants are so concerned about how he’ll take the news that they’re scared to even tell him. But he figures it out. 

And when he gets confirmation that the boy has died, David gets up off the floor, takes a shower, washes his face, gets dressed and asks for a meal. Then he eats. 

David’s household staff was like: “Wait what? You were sooooo devastated when the boy was just sick. But now he’s dead and you’re good?” 

And David said something to the effect of: “When I was stressed out before, I was hoping that my pleas would help him survive. Now that he’s gone, my stress won’t bring him back. I’ll see him again in the afterlife someday.” 

Every time I’ve ever heard that story, I’ve heard it told as a story of resilience. When you hit the rough stuff, when you lose something precious, when a season ends against your will, don’t wail and moan. 

Get up, wash your face, get back in the saddle. 

But I think the most powerful part of the story hasn’t even been told yet. 

After David ate, he went to comfort his wife. And during all this “comforting”, she gets pregnant and eventually gives birth to another son. 

That baby would eventually become King Solomon, the historical Jewish emperor whose very name symbolizes wisdom, clear-minded discernment and incredible prosperity. 

So, as I read it, the moral of the story is not “get up and wash your face”.

The moral of the story as I read it, is that after grave crisis, after a season of loss, after even death and mourning comes creation and wisdom. 

If you let yourself receive them. 

Every spiritual tradition has the principle of death preceding rebirth and creation.

So does science. 

The elements of everything that has ever lived and died on this Planet are recycled into the new things that now live. 

Including you and me. 

And everything you’ve ever wanted that didn’t work out, everything you’ve ever tried and failed at, every season of your life that’s ever ended… all of that creates space for fresh, new things to be born. 

But more importantly, all your past “endings” create clarity and wisdom.

Catch this principle: You can’t start receiving and leveraging the clarity and wisdom of a loss until you let it go, grieve it and decide to get back in the game. 

So yeah. Wash your face. 

But that’s not the end of the story. Wash your face so that you can collect your clarity. So that you can expand in wisdom. 

And so that you can see what wants to be created in your life next.

Head up + heart out,

P.S.: Doors are about to close on my Do Your Dream program, the 21 day online workshop where you learn how to overcome old patterns of procrastination, perfectionism and negative self-talk so you can take unprecedented, wholehearted action on your self-care and life goals.

The program begins June 1st. Join us if you’re ready to start seeing what’s next for you.

https://soultour.com/doyourdream

Tara-Nicholle Nelson, MA, Esq.
Founder + CEO of SoulTour

@taranicholle on FB | TW | IG | LI

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