7 Benefits of Turmoil

3) Reveals Blind Spots

In a similar vein, disorder helps reveal the places in our lives that are weak. Pain makes us vulnerable. It exposes us. This is one of the reasons we avoid it. Our anger spills over. We more clearly see our inability to trust. Our lust for power bubbles to the surface. As we face the challenges of suffering, all of our carefully built card houses crumble and what is left is an honest mirror.

In such a setting, we may better know where we fall short. Where we might improve. Have you ever been in a situation where a painful season descends and you say something like, “I had no idea how much I was struggling with…?”

We are so good at protecting ourselves from the judgment of others that we often can hide even from ourselves. Turmoil drags us, naked and exposed, into the light. And the wounds and imperfections we discover can help us to move forward more effectively.

4) Grows Relational Intimacy

Are you great friends with anyone you haven’t been through some mess with? Are you in love with anyone who hasn’t hurt you and been hurt by you?

Life is not a fairy tale. True love is not rainbows and sunshine. It is perseverance. Commitment. Togetherness. Turmoil invites people to fight for one another relationally. It invited each of us to care for the others in our lives, to see them exposed and make the choice to love.

Intimacy is the deepening connection between one or more individuals. Turmoil pushes through the layers. It makes life hard. The people who stick around, with whom you are willing to sit in pain, and with whom the turmoil is addressed and overcome are the people you will love the most.

The tension in our movies and books is what drives the intimacy of the characters together. Facing and overcoming the dungeons of darkness or the dangers of depression with another person reinforces connection at a deeper level.