Most of you reading this blog have experienced something others may not understand. Your life story looks different than the “norm”. So how does this challenge others? Let me share some real life examples I have encountered this past year.
I have this wish for everyone to experience the healing I have experienced and the hope they come to know God as I have through this healing.
I will consistently encourage people to seek out a good trauma informed Christian counselor. Trauma informed is important, because most people have endured some kind of trauma. That is the root of a lot of anxiety and things happening in the body they do not understand.
A trauma informed counselor knows what to look for, what to ask, and how to challenge you to look at the things you are avoiding and process them. A Christian counselor is important on top of it because he will direct you to the Bible and the truth of God in your healing process.
As I recommend counseling to people, there are some who do not want to seek it, or seek it out once or twice and never go back. I don’t personally take offense to this, but I can see why they do not continue. It is incredibly painful work to go to counseling. It is draining, emotional, and hard. It’s a slow process and not a quick fix, and our society wants things they can fix fast or we just want to leave it and move on.
But as I’ve said before you never leave it because it’s always there in your body. I have observed people nibbling at their fingers until they bleed which tells me something has not been dealt with. I have no judgments on this because I spent years not wanting to deal with things, but then I know the freedom which came with dealing with them in counseling. I have this wish for everyone. It’s a wish for the good for everyone that they experience the freedom and pursue all God has for them here on this earth.
Besides suggesting counseling and often times getting push back, I will also share the difficulty trauma presents in coming into understanding God as a loving Father, and finding your identity in Him. Understanding His forgiveness and why evil happens and why He does not stop it.
Recently, I challenged and shared in one of my groups my feelings about forgiveness. One lady shared she doesn’t believe self forgiveness is a thing because she always knows and always has known her identity is in Christ. My response to her was, I am truly glad she has not experienced anything in her life which has made it difficult to see God is her identity and has completely forgiven her.
Because those of us who’ve endured significant trauma early on in life do know how hard it is to see God through the lens of such evil we have endured. It’s a process I believe God completely understands and there’s an organicity to healing which is often oversimplified – especially in the church.
I am confident enough now in my relationship with God, and how healing has come about in my life, it doesn’t bother me people don’t see it the same way I do because their lens is different than mine. However, it hurts my heart for those they might be ministering to who are in dark places, as I was years ago, and dealing with trauma and the difficulty to understand God, which is why I am passionate about sharing my story.
I always take the words I share with people before God and ask for His guidance, and after sharing and hearing responses, take that back to God. I ask Him to show me the truth and His word, and lay it all at His feet. I have come to understand the pushback I get is usually because I challenge people to look outside the box, the lens they’ve been living life out of.
I’m OK with this because I know the freedom which comes from healing, and I know God doesn’t work in a box.
Continue sharing your story and seeking God and His truth. Your story will challenge others, but remember sharing the truth will never come back void.
© 2022 Susan M. Clabaugh. All Rights Reserved.
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