For years I had emotional pain from childhood abuse/traumas. Once I became a Christian, Jesus began to heal me, little by little, layer by layer. If He can help me, He can help anyone. Our healing journeys may be different, but the ultimate result will be the same—freedom.
I’m not a professional counselor, but I wanted to share the steps Jesus used to heal me:
- Breaking the silence. After I became a Christian I began to openly talk about the abuse I endured. The more I shared my secrets, the freer I became.
- Prayer. I sought my healing as if my life depended upon it. I spent many hours in prayer seeking my healing.
- Reading and studying the bible. As I read and studied the bible, it renewed my mind. The negative thoughts that consumed my life were replaced with positive ones.
- Forgiving my abuser. I was so grateful to God that He had forgiven me for my behavior during my wild years, I wanted to extend forgiveness to my uncle. It was also something I did in obedience to what the Bible says God asks us to do. I would never have been able to forgive my uncle before I became a Christian, nor did I ever want to. It was God’s power that enabled me to do so. When I forgave him, it didn’t mean what he did to me was okay. However, it did mean I was no longer imprisoned by anger and hatred towards him.
- Seeking godly counsel. God used female Christian counsel to give me insight into the root cause of some unresolved issues and suggestions on how to address them. Godly counsel is a wonderful option when we cannot resolve issues on our own.
- Accepting what happened. Being able to accept what I endured was very much a part of my healing. However, I could not have done this without God’s help.
- Forgiving myself. For years I blamed myself for not telling what my uncle did to me. Once I forgave myself, I was freed from the self-condemnation that plagued me for years.
- Reading Christian books on emotional healing. God used Christian books I read on emotional healing to help me. They enabled me to understand why I felt the way I did after I was abused, and why I behaved the way I did after I was abused. Some of these books included: “The Bondage Breaker” by Dr. Neil Anderson and “Freeing Your Mind from Memories that Bind” by Florence Littauer.
- Praying for My Abuser. It took me years to pray for my abuser. Once I did, I finally felt free from the hold his actions had on me.
I hope you are encouraged to know you don’t have to stay stuck in the pain of your past. John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Mary Therese Hutchinson 