I believe I have talked about this before, but it deserves repeating. You must choose to get better. You must choose to be a survivor and not a victim.
I used to get mad at people that told me those statements. After all, they had no idea what it was like to have a hard life, right? The thing is we all have struggles and hardships and that will always be a part of life. However, there are others that experience similar circumstances to us and understand or at least they try to.
What I realized a few years ago is that I had to choose. Do I want to wallow in self-pity the rest of my life or live the life God gave me? Was what I experienced horrific? Yes. Was it hard? Yes. Will it take time to heal from it? Yes.
However, the progress that can be made when we choose to be a survivor and not a victim is huge. I have made more progress with healing and am more involved with life than anytime in the past decade.
Let me list some victim statements so you know what I am talking about:
Victim statements:
I can’t…
I need…
I should…
I have to…
I couldn’t…
I shouldn’t…
I had no choice…
If only you, they…
You make me feel…
They, you, made me…
It’s too late, far, expensive…
I’m too old, young, uneducated, out of shape, etc…
Survivor statements:
I am…
I can…
I feel…
I create…
I choose to, or not to…
(Finish those statements out.)
This is what I did when I completed them. (All of the below with God.)
I am going to make it.
I can do this.
I feel I can.
I create (with God) then ending to my story.
I choose to move forward.
When we choose to be survivors, we can start moving step by step towards true healing. You know the old question of how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That’s all it takes. Just one step and then another.
Don’t let fear hold you back either. Put your trust in God to lead you. I used to think I could screw up God’s plans. Like I’m more powerful than God? 😊
As I was reading a devotional by Christy Wright, she quoted Lisa Bevere as saying, “If you think you’ve blown God’s plan for your life, rest in this. You, my beautiful friend are not that powerful.”
I love that I am not powerful enough to screw up God’s plans. I love that He takes what Satan means for evil and uses it for good, and I love that God is not up away from us wringing His hands because He doesn’t know what to do.
One, He is right here with us, and two, He knows what will happen before we do!
Rest in that today and in the days to come and choose to be a survivor and not a victim. You didn’t have a choice when it happened, but you do now! Pray for God to help you change this mindset and use survivor statements I listed.
I promise it will make a huge difference in your healing!
© 2021 Susan M. Clabaugh. All Rights Reserved.
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