Month: August 2023
Facing the Dragon
“Wow! Look at that sunset” our friend belted with his usual over-the-top enthusiasm. I sat quietly looking out over the mountains. The flaming colors of the clouds billowed in defiance of the setting sun, but the scene didn’t permeate anything deeper in me than an intellectual acknowledgment of its beauty. It’s not that I never…
Healing Emotional Trauma and Building on the Light
Emotional trauma has a way of twisting reality, making it hard to see our way to healing. The pain and fear gets a strangle-hold on our hope, blinding us to the very light that can sustain us through the hardship. Trauma has a way of sneaking up on most of us. For some it is…
Healing Truths
Childhood abuse resulted in most of my energy being used to fight feelings of worthlessness and despair. At one of my lowest points as a teenager, a leader in our youth group reached out to me for help with a project. Her “needing” me planted a seed of hope—maybe there was something inside me of…
To Friends of Abuse Victims
Things for friends of abuse victims to understand: When you have been a victim of any kind of abuse, one of the hardest things to do is to admit to yourself and others that you have been deeply hurt by those who should love and care for you. Whether you are an abused child or…