Having just gotten out of a fairly good relationship and experiencing the proverbial heartbreak, I resolved to research and find out why – even when the breakup is seemingly smooth – does one feel one’s heart break.
There is this acute pain in my chest that I feel every now and then which produces a dull ache. The sensation is that of a constricted heart cognizant of a heart attack (I believe as I haven’t really experienced one).
So being a scientist specializing in the life sciences, I went on a quest for the rational answer. And Google didn’t fail me. The most easy-to-understand video I got was this:
The video is pretty much self-explanatory. It states how, scientifically, a heart can be broken and what is the necessary cure. The actual illness due to a broken heart is called takotsubo cardiomyopathy and there are accounts of people who have died of one.
In fact, the biggest death of a broken heart is none other than Jesus Christ himself. Jesus, after being nailed on the cross, did not die due to excessive bleeding or punctured lungs. He died of a broken heart. After absorbing all the sins of the world, God the Father had no choice but to abandon Him for He was abhorrent to His eyes. And so, Jesus, who was without sin and became sin, and who had no other than love for mankind, suffered a broken heart.
It’s like He loves us so much but we fail to reciprocate it – hurts right? That was what He felt. His heart literally broke and that is why when the soldier pierced His side, water spilled out.
Yes I feel the pain. It is acute. It is, for lack of better words, painful. But definitely, it is none compared to the pain my Lord Jesus felt when He died on the cross. And for this, I know He knows how I feel and He can relate to me.
The pain is there but it is not the end. In fact, there is joy deep in my heart. For I am excited to know how the next chapter of my life will unfold.
