This blog is a Christmas message about surviving childhood trauma and abuse. Faith in my Savior’s love and direction gave me the personal strength to move into the unknown and find the light. In my personal healing, my faith was essential. My experience was with DID, but childhood trauma and abuse can result in many emotional difficulties such as depression, PTSD, anxiety disorders. etc.
Survival Stories
Survival stories are intriging to everyone. As a teen I remember how intensely I hoped for the safe return of the crew of Apollo 13. They were supposed to land on the moon, but an explosion of an oxygen tank put them in peril of never returning to earth. Miraculously they made it home. The world was relieved when their space capsule splashed down in the ocean the the three astronauts emerged.
How many books or movies describe stories of survival? Especially inspiring are those heros who survive very difficult situations and do so with hope, faith, kindness, and courage.
Are You Living a Survival Story?
Survivors of childhood trauma and abuse don’t always share their stories of survival. They may not even be aware of how each day they are responding to triggers from subconscious fears and sorrows. Sometimes the body suffers pain that the heart cannot express.
I found comfort, courage, and validation in a discourse titled “He Is Risen with Healing in His Wings” by Patrick Kearon. It is found at http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org (search for April 2022 general conference, click and scroll down to the Saturday afternoon session, fourth speaker.)
“[Perhaps] you are in the midst of your own desperate attempt to survive . . . Will you ever be rescued; will you make it through your own survival story?” (Kearon,2022)
Can You Survive?
“The answer is yes. You can survive. You have in fact already been rescued; you have been saved–by the One who has suffered the very torment you are suffering and endured the very agony you are enduring. Jesus has overcome the abuses of this world to give you power not only survive but one day, through Him, to overcome and even conquer–to completely rise above the pain, the misery, the anguish, and see them replaced by peace.
With those assurances very much in mind, I want to speak directly to those who feel as though there is no way out of their own survival story because of the trauma inflicted by the cruel actions of others. If this is your survival story, we weep with you. We yearn for you to overcome the confusion, shame, and fear, and we long for you, through Jesus Christ, to conquer (Kearon, 2022).”
God Loves You, No Matter What
“If you have experienced any kind of abuse, violence, or oppression, you may be left with the idea that these events were somehow your fault and that you deserve to carry the shame and guilt you feel. . . .
These erroneous thoughts and feelings may have been a barrier to seekeing help from family, friends, leaders, or professionals, and so you have struggled alone. . . ” (Kearon, 2022)
It Is Not Your Fault
“Whatever has happened to you, He (Jesus) is not ashamed of you or disappointed in you. He loves you in a way you have yet to discover. And you will discover it as you trust in His promises and as you learn to believe Him when He says you are “precious in [His} sight. You are not defined by these terrible things that have been done to you.. . .
He knows exactly what real terror and shame feel like and how it feels to be abandoned and broken, From the depths of His atoning suffering, the Savior imparts hope you thought was lost forever, strength you believed you could never possess, and healing you couldn’t imagine was possible.” (Kearon, 2022).
Our Savior Beckons
“. . . [Those] who have been so terribly wounded–and for that matter, anyone who has borne the injustices of life–you can have a new beginning and a fresh start. . .With arms outstretched, the Savior offers the gift of healing to you. With courage, patience, and faithful focus on Him, before too long you can come to fully accept this gift. You can let go of your pain and leave it at His feet.
Jesus specialized in the seemingly impossible. He came here to make the impossible possible, the irredeemable redeemable, to heal the unhealable, to right the unrightable, to promise the unpromisable. And He’s really good at it. In fact, He’s perfect at it.” (Kearon, 2022)
I hope that you can feel the Spirit of this promise to all through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I have felt His Love powerfully in my heart. Through Him am finding the courage to share my story of trauma and healing–that I once felt I could tell to no one, not even my own conscious mind. May you feel this Divine Love during this Holiday and always.