@bethvogt
I was the little girl who loved to get lost in books.
I loved fairy tales.
The magic of them.
No matter the dark forests to be traversed or dragons to be battled or evil queens to be outwitted, each story had a fantastical happy ending.
The authors of those stories, with their imaginary characters and magical overcoming of obstacles, of hardships, allowed me to escape.
Don’t we all want to escape sometimes?
I did.
A child living with abuse first longs for protection.
Not finding that, a child longs for escape.
For a time, a child wants to know why, but then stops asking questions. In all honesty, there aren’t any answers that will ever make sense of abuse.
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know I don’t talk in detail about my history of abuse.
Why not? Because that was me then, this is me now.
But I’m writing this blog because I’m sitting here awake, praying over the heartache of someone I love.
One step the wrong way and I could sink into my past like so much emotional quicksand. Abuse is like that – always ready to overwhelm you with the tragedy of it all if …
… if you focus on the wound that was inflicted instead of the healing.
Abuse is a particularly deadly snare because it invalidates you. At its very core, abuse of any kind, be it physical or sexual abuse, says, “You are not worth kindness. Or love. Or respect.”
When abuse happens at a young age, it undermines your sense of worth for years to come, affecting your relationship with others and with God.
Is healing from abuse possible? Yes. Thank you, God, yes.
Healing is a hard, hard road to walk. You have to choose to exchange deeply engrained lies for stronger truths. To establish healthier boundaries after having your boundaries obliterated by people you should have been able to trust.
Healing isn’t magical. There’s no pixie dust. No appearance of a fairy godmother waving a magic wand and chanting, “Bibbidy-bobbidy-boo.”
The deepest, truest healing is supernatural. Anchored to the Truth.
That’s what I cling to tonight, even as my heart aches for someone else taking their first, faltering steps toward healing.
There is hope. There is healing.
If anyone ever asks me why I believe in God – this is why. He’s seen me through an overwhelming heartache, and pieced my broken heart back together again.
And He will do the same for anyone else.
Choosing to Believe in More Than Fairytales https://bit.ly/3siZtKC #hope #healing Share on X 'Notice the word 'hope'... The Hebrew term literally means 'a cord, as an attachment.' Every one of us is hanging on to something or someone for security ... Share on X
Comments 8
There is hope and there is healing,
from defeat comes victory,
but I have lately got the feeling
that this has not been meant for me.
That’s all right and I’m OK,
for each win there is a fail,
and I don’t mind living, in a way
as God’s cautionary tale,
so I’ll whistle down the road,
kick the can and skip the rock,
and my acceptance of the load
will cushion pain and buffer shock
and keep a sparkle in my eye
even though I’m marked to die.
Author
Andrew, my friend: You are so much more than God’s cautionary tale.
You speak of courage and hope and faith in the face of ongoing trials.
And we are all marked to die, aren’t we — though we try to forget it, day in and day out.
Praying for you, my friend.
Thank goodness we are loved by the God of Hope. I so appreciate your gentle words of truth, and I’m praying for this person in your life. Hugs, friend.
Author
Yes, we are loved by the God of infinite hope, Jeanne. And I’m so grateful, too. Thank you for your prayers, my friend.
Even when we’re not paying attention, He’s there for us and supporting us. Faith, Hope, and Love.
Author
So true, Denise. So true. And His mercies are new every morning … His faithfulness is great.
I love this so much momma… all so true.
Author
It is true — a truth that holds us steady. Love you, son.