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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Healing Wounds Part I

One of the things I know I need is healing. The past always deals us cuttingly, leaving us more than just bittersweet memories.

Events that occurred in the past, even the ones we don't remember, can leave in us a wound that time never heals.

These wounds can manifest themselves in many ways, from anxiety and fear and even small personalities quirks. Unfortunately, these wounds can also prevent us from becoming what God created us to be.

These wounds can prevent us from being who we really are.

Anxiety and fear, for example, can create walls and avoiding behavior that serve as defense mechanisms against the object, event or person that creates the anxiety and fear.

Walls are divisive and can ultimately imprison us.

This is just one example of how wounds prevent us in living and being the life Christ calls us to be.

Healing is therefore essential in our spiritual growth, in our growing in likeness of Him.

One time I took a retreat to look deeply into the wounds that are causing my anxieties. It was a 3 day retreat in a ranch far away from the city. Silence and solitude were unavoidable. Even my guitar and Bible were left behind.

It was just me and God during most of the time.

What I found during my time with Him were memories from my childhood, some of them I had even forgotten about but were later confirmed by my parents as true events.

I could only go through some of my memories, and there is still much more healing to be done, but my anxiety has become more controllable ever since.

We can't simply wait out our healing, as present events can resurface old forgotten wounds. Sometimes we may not know why we feel how we feel because the memory might be lost, but the wound is still lurking behind, working behind the scenes with our emotions.

Healing is therefore intentional.

Christ is longing to heal us. He comes to us as He did with many of the sick people of His time, asking us "What do you want?"

I hope our answers will be "Lord I want to see".


2 comments:

  1. You are very wise Jose. Very wise.

    When we are hurt the memories stay with us for a long time. Sometimes for ever. The details may fade a little with time but the slightest event, visiting a place, hearing a voice or some music, or whatever else, will bring back the bad memories, the pain and the hurt once again. They may even bring back resentment if we are not careful.

    I know ... we may well have forgiven, or convinced ourselves that we have forgiven, but when the pain re-surfaces the hurt comes back all over again.

    When this happens, I pray for the person who has hurt me. I say to God: Maybe I cannot forgive like You did on the Cross; so I hand over this person to You so You can forgive them for me instead.

    I shall pray for you Jose that your pain will, in God's time, fade away.

    God bless you.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Victor!

      Yes, I have found that forgiveness is not a one time event, but it usually comes in stages. We have to forgive and forgive, and every time we do it a deeper healing occurs.

      Thanks for your prayers! I will pray for you as well!

      Jose D. Pinell.

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