Dealing With Past Pain

February 7, 2016

When tragedy, trial, or trauma invades a child’s life at the most tender of ages, it is destined to leave a mark. Some people hope that their loved ones will never have to experience the same things they have. For others, the only life they know is warped, complicated, and abusive. Unfortunately, in many cases, generational sin continues with more abuse, anger, and outrageous behavior. But thankfully, there are some who have escaped the cycle of sin in spite of the life they coped with as a little one.

My childhood did include wonderful memories, but it also included rejection and abandonment. As an adult I have seasons when I fight with feelings tucked deep within my being. The baggage seems to sneak up on me in the most inopportune moments. For many years the baggage was dormant, seemed silent, and did not interrupt my seemingly normal life. I didn’t even realize I was continuing to carry the weight of rejection.

I know it might sound trite or too simple, but Jesus is the only way I have made it. Yes, I could have blamed God, or sought a method of escape, but I found a love in Jesus that I haven’t found anywhere else. So I clung to it. I still cling to it.

I don’t know what you carry. For some of you, the story is tragic, unbelievable, and emotionally unbearable. No one should have to go through what you have experienced.

My simple encouragement today is to allow Jesus to meet you in the mess of everything you’ve been through. No matter what it is, what it’s been, or where you are now, He is able to deliver you. I know it’s not always simple. Many times there are layers as thick as steel filled with heartache that isn’t easily blotted out, but there is no other healing apart from Jesus. There is no other mending except for in His grace and mercy. Jesus is the only way.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name. Psalm 147:3-4

It has always been amazing to me that God knows every star, even the ones we cannot see. When we feel like God is far away or that our struggle is too deep to verbalize, God knows. He knows what we want to say even though we cannot express the words within our wounded hearts. I hope you will find healing and comfort in the fact that God knows where you’ve been, what you’ve been through, and how it affects you to this day.

If you have found His unfailing love along your path of life, share it with us in the comments to encourage someone else who is struggling with baggage of the past.

If you are searching for God’s peace, share that here too.

It’s time to let go of the baggage, live beyond the abuse, and move past the pain. It won’t be easy, but there is freedom in the precious love of Jesus.

I wrote a song a few years ago that goes something like this:

When your heart hurts
I mean the tough times
It keeps you up at night
And it’s been a long, long time
And you still cry
Over something years ago
The pain you feel
Nobody knows
You don’t know how to say it
Sometimes it seems you’ll never make it

It’s time to let go
It’s time to move on
Just when I thought that I was oh so weak
God gave me the strength
And I’m telling you…

There is freedom,
There is freedom,
Freedom in forgiving someone who has hurt you deep,
And I’m learning, it’s not my pain to keep.