Strength in Accepting a Higher Power

There is strength in accepting that there is a Higher Power—a kind and powerful force that can extend our understanding and resolve our own powerlessness.

Accepting Reality

Accepting that reality is difficult in the face of betrayal and enduring the perpetual pain of abuse. Abuse of any kind limits our vision of the world. It forces our body, mind, and even spirit into survival mode. We can only see what is immediately around us. The moments that our power is taken away blind us to the bigger picture. The soul-ripping pain we are left with can cause a long-term blindness to life beyond the trauma. It makes it hard to believe in a Higher Power.

So how can the blindness be cured? The first step is in admitting our vision is limited. When our physical eyesight fails us, we seek the help of a professional. We work to find ways to improve our vision. We can do the same for our life-vision. There is help to correct misconceptions and shed light on the dark corners of doubt and pain.

Restore to Sanity

Alcoholics Anonymous Step 2 states that, “We came to be aware that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”  https://alcohol.org/alcoholics-anonymous/step-2/ I love that they use the word restore. When we are dealing with the devastation of abuse, the resulting illness is not a reflection of what is lacking in us. It is simply a manifestation of what has been lost.

Dealing with the devastating effects of the abuse I suffered made me feel like I was crazy and hopeless. I thought something was wrong with me. The truth is there was something wrong with what happened to me. The effects of the trauma threw me into a pit that I could not see my way out of. I was strong enough to survive, but needed help to see my way out.

In the moments of deepest despair, there was a distant tiny spot of light. When I found myself struggling against the dark, a choice was gently given to me. I could focus on the light and find my way forward or close my eyes to any hope or help.

We Don’t Need to Walk Alone

Often, I would work toward the light, only to be knocked down again by my abusers. It felt like the light was just teasing me—a mirage meant to make me believe in something that wasn’t there.  But shutting my eyes to the light made the pain heavier and eventually unbearable. If I didn’t trust in the light somewhere ahead, the anguish in my soul would destroy me. I needed the strength that came with believing in a Higher Power.

Ultimately, it was about accepting that I can’t walk this path alone. And I don’t need to.

Accepting that reality improved my life-vision. I saw that the light was not a promise of ease or a magic cure, but a promise of better ability to see and feel the joy of the light parts of the journey. The truth is that there is light and joy even during the hardest times.

Strength in Accepting a Higher Power

It seems that relying on an outside, Universal force would increase our sense of powerlessness. But the opposite happens. It is freeing to know that there is a Higher Power that can give us the power we need to move through the anguish that haunts us and forward to a more beautiful life. The Power to Heal

Why is it important to admit the need for something bigger than ourselves? It opens our eyes to life outside the abuse, the trauma and the pain. It helps us have faith in our future, regardless of how dark it may look while we’re dealing with the effects of trauma.

Easter is a time of celebrating overcoming the impossible. No matter what we face, healing is possible and there is joy on the path before us.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 KJV