BEYOND PAINFUL MEMORIES

I have personally learned how true the lessons I tell below can be. I dwelt for many years on pain I had experienced, unable to put it in the past.

But God has gradually helped me create a new reality. Yes, I do believe I’m a transformed person. Through God, I’ve been given the strength to build a new life. I’m doing my best to be forgiving and shutting the door on the past.

With the book I’ve been writing and telling you about (for quite a while now) I look at a lot of wonderful things that happened in my past, before the pain came. I show the amazing things God gave me to do between the years 2000 and 2014.

With this new book (ONE SUCH AS ME?) I tell my story, hoping there will be readers inspired to carry this good story onward, so it will live on when I’m gone. You will see what is possible when you follow God and keep him close.

The book will be available in a few weeks. I will keep you posted.

BEYOND MEMORIES: CREATING A NEW REALITY (Written in January  2017)

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Matthew 18:21-22

Jesus knew all about forgiving. He came to do a lot of it. Remember how He was abandoned by his disciples leading up to the time of His crucifixion? He was left virtually deserted facing a lonely journey back to His Father. Crucified as evil, though He had loved and given so much.

Jesus – human, though God – must have suffered greatly, as would we, to be abandoned at such a time.

But Jesus forgave those who deserted Him. He forgives all who sin, including you and me if we believe in who He is. Consider the great gift of finding such forgiveness!

After the resurrection, forgetting how He had been hurt, Jesus carried on with what currently faced Him. All that was on His mind was preparing His disciples for when He would physically no longer be with them. Paying no attention to how these friends had abandoned Him, He gathered them together, and proceeded to give them instructions on how to go out and take His message to the world. There was no time or reason to think of what was past.

Do you find it hard to live in the present when traumatic memories haunt you? Do you find it hard to forget the past and carry on as normal? God understands and offers compassion. His son Jesus was hurt too.

But God also offers hope.

Neurological understanding explains how a traumatized brain can change when the mind, body and emotions consistently experience a wholesome and secure life. Traumatic memories can gradually fade away. Healing becomes possible.

This very day each of us has opportunities to create such wholesome ways of living – ways of living that will help free us from yesterday’s pain. It can happen when more positive thoughts fill our minds, when more engaging activities fill our time, when we forgive those who hurt us and work towards reconciliation. The very act of focusing on something new and promising will make a difference. We will not think so much about the past.

What we suffer can’t compare with what Jesus went through. Nevertheless God has a reason for the pain we suffer as well. He can use our hurts and transform us to better serve His purposes. Did you know that suffering leads to new God-given strength? As Jesus told the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)

What is your reality? The present or the past? The new or the old? What kind of brand new reality could God help you pursue that would help your painful past fade away?

What does God have waiting for you?

marja

References: The Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.