Shattered or Healed?

I was at a funeral yesterday and someone quoted a Jewish proverb. It went something like this:
When sorrow upon sorrow is piled on a heart one of two things will happen. The heart will shatter and break and send out shards that will pierce and wound all those around or the pressure will cause the heart to break open and it will be filled with the love of God.

As I have pondered this my mind has been drawn to what the scripture says about the brokenhearted. "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18 " He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalms 147:3 I have both seen and experienced the nearness of the Lord when the sorrows of this life have broken my heart and crushed my spirit. Yet, I have seen the other as well.

When my husband and I began opening our door to people in distress someone told me, "Be careful, hurting people hurt people." What makes the difference?  I think I can find the answer in the same Psalms that talk about God healing the brokenhearted. Psalm 34 and Psalm 147 talk about someone who is humble in heart. Someone who is humble in heart is someone who is seeking the Lord and crying out to Him when life becomes unbearable. Someone who is humble in heart is someone who hopes in the steadfast love of God. The opposite of that is someone who raises their fist then turns their back on God in times of distress.

Lord Jesus, when you began your ministry here on earth you said you came to bind up the brokenhearted. Lord let me be one who always turns towards you and not away from you when the sorrows of life threaten to break my heart and crush my spirit.