Now is the time to actively pursue healing, to grow toward completion, to walk toward maturity. We all have stuff buried under the surface, stuff that needs to be brought to the light so we can work through it and heal from it. I am consistently doing this with my own stuff. It's not always easy, but it is so good to keep growing and healing!
It feels easier to be too busy to heal. It's easy to shrug it off as if it doesn't affect you. It's easy to feel like you can't do anything about it. But friend, if you're like me, you want better for yourself. You want to be free. You want to be calm and confident in Christ. You want to be made whole.
Listen to a few of these pre-reader reviews of the book God wrote through me:
“I pre-read the book while helping my granddaughter deal with family trauma and I must tell everyone that it not only encouraged her but also helped me heal my inner “teen” hurts in my past. This is going to be a blessing to anyone who reads it!” -grandma of teen girl
“When I started reading this morning, I had no idea that your words would touch my soul so deeply. I know that your target audience is teens struggling with these horrible issues but I truly feel that anyone who has gone through the trauma and still needs encouragement can benefit greatly! God will use this mightily, not only to help young people but anyone who has lived through these feelings!” -grandma of teen girl
“I found myself reading this book to determine if it was appropriate for my teenager. Here I am now, sorting through things of my past that have been buried for years. Things that now I know have hindered my walk with God in ways I didn't realize. This book is powerful and appropriate for all ages who are struggling or desire a closer walk with God.” -mom of teen girl
I never dreamed I’d be getting this kind of response from the book.
My passion is to help teen girls, but I also love connecting with women of all ages. My friend group seriously ranges from 13 to 75, and I adore each and every one of them. That God would allow this book to reach the hearts of all women, the young and the… more experienced 😁 is beyond my wildest dreams. He is so good.
These reviews make sense though.
All of us carry deep wounds from our childhood and teenage years. No one is exempt from this. By age 18, we form most of our go-to responses, our natural reactions, based on what we experience.
In 2016, it was reported that 46% of our nation’s children under age 17 had experienced at least one trauma. Some of these traumatic experiences included witnessing or experiencing physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, bullying, loss of a loved one, violence, natural disasters, living with a family member whose caregiving ability is impaired, and having a life-threatening illness or injury. (More info about these findings here.)
If this is the statistic, then I have to believe that many of you reading this blog experienced trauma as a child or teenager. Even if you wouldn’t classify it as trauma, the commonplace hurts of growing up also affect us today… the teasing, the insecurities, the trying to fit in, the errors in judgment we made, the betrayal of friends, the insults, the embarrassment, the shame, the dysfunctional family dynamics… It all affects us.
So many of us (me too!) continue in unhealthy thought patterns and internal dialogue based on what we believed to be true in our teenage years.
Thoughts like… No one likes me. I’m not good enough. Nothing I do matters. No one cares. Everything I do is wrong. I’m ugly. I can’t do this. What is wrong with me? I am invisible. I am too much.
These thoughts affect our behaviors, our relationships, and our well-being. Left buried, our wounds fester and infect us more and more.
It is time for healing!
How do we heal from past hurts? Healing does not happen in isolation. We need each other. God created us to be in relationship with Him and with each other. We need to be vulnerable. The first step is uncovering the pain and acknowledging it.
I would love if you would read my book that will be published in May 2023. I believe it will bring to surface the pain buried inside of you, while also giving you great hope and words of truth to help you heal. This is just one resource though, and it is just one step on the journey toward healing.
Take time to delve into your past. Speak with a therapist. Find a group counseling experience. Talk to a mentor. Start getting curious about your reactions. Begin to explore the roots. Continue to pray.
Let’s walk together on this journey to healing, free from these debilitating thoughts. Let’s do this together, ladies! It is time for healing!
What unhealthy thought patterns tend to play in your mind?
How have you seen your childhood affect your adult life?
Who could you talk to about this today?
P.S. My book, Dear One: Journal of a Depressed Teen and Hope from the Other Side will be available next month! (Oh my goodnesss! It's crazy to believe after over a decade of dreaming about it!) I plan to keep you posted on that, but more importantly, I will continue to encourage you and pray for you.
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