Written by Kristi Gaultiere, a contemporary psychotherapist, spiritual director and founder of Soul Shepherding.
Your chest tightens. Your heart races. You feel small and unsafe. You don’t know why but you’re spiraling. Maybe a harsh tone that makes you feel deathly afraid. Perhaps getting ignored throws you into feelings of shame and self-hatred. You know your emotions are bigger than your current experience, but you can’t shut them off. Friends, this is what trauma does. It triggers the pain of old memories in the present moment. It floods us emotionally and overwhelms our capacity to cope in a healthy way. Trauma often “shuts us down” to God’s presence and love. It also keeps us from embracing his grace through his ambassadors… Trauma might sound dramatic. After all, I never went to war or got abused. Likewise, you might be thinking, I didn’t experience trauma as a child. I grew up in a stable family and all my physical needs were met. But you may have missed the tender care you needed…Painful experiences are often stored in our bodies without our conscious awareness. Implicit memories—along with attached fear, shame, or anger—surface under stress through emotional reactions and bodily sensations…Many of us have trauma stuffed down that makes us feel young and vulnerable when someone or something “pushes your buttons.” … You may find help as I did by inviting Jesus into your memories through healing prayer. This practice can help you experience his compassionate presence and restorative love in the places where you’ve been wounded.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. [Psalm 91:4-6]
Pathways Press.com 