An Overcomer’s Post
I was out of college before I realized how stuck I was. I saw patterns of unhealthy living repeated in my life with no progress in growth or maturity. And I had no understanding as to why.
Where did this come from? I began to dig for answers. I talked with my sisters and my mother. I sought counseling. I participated in a church based program that dealt with overcoming such issues.
Slowly truth began to immerge. The time I questioned a family member about a season in my young life and came away with a migraine the likes of which I had never experienced before or since, I knew I was digging into my memory in an area that was painful.
However, I’ve only discovered a very small part that anyone would even begin to call abusive. For the most part, my unhealthy patterns came from adults teaching what they understood, often passing on lies they believed as truth themselves, and my response to them.
Many have endured emotional, physical abuse far greater than I could imagine. Because of that, I thought my pain was invalid and I had no basis for my voicing my pain. I should just “get it together”.
I didn’t realize I had taken lies into myself as truth and that I was hiding my pain under a mound of food and pleasing others. Fear was still a shadow following me.
The lies from my youth left their mark on my life and I couldn’t move on. I was stuck.
Whether there is outright abuse, constant or one time, or if there is a more subtle form of abuse, leaving no visible mark, or if there is only a constant barrage of lies fed into our child’s heart, STUCK can feel like death.
So how do we move past those things that we are stuck on? Through this journey I realized the importance forgiveness plays in moving on and becoming all that God created us to be. We also have to find truth. Jesus is truth. And he reveals his thoughts and intents through the Bible. His written word.
During my Overcomers post, I will in part talk about various offenses that occur to embed lies into our hearts, but I don’t want to focus on what is different about our experiences. I cannot judge the state of anyone’s pain.
I understand, the more severe the damage, the more healing has to take place. But whether your bruises are on the outside or the inside, they are real.
I will focus, instead, on what we have in common. Those things necessary to move forward.
I do not have all the answers. From one believer to another, I can share my continuing story of getting unstuck. I can share what I have learned from scripture as I traveled the road to more.
I invite you who have traveled a harder road and for much longer to share your experiences and wisdom in this journey to overcome.
Let’s help each other find courage and strength to keep breaking free
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