He heals the wounds of every shattered heart. He sets His stars in place, calling them all by their names. How great is our God! There’s absolutely nothing His power cannot accomplish, and He has infinite understanding of everything.
Psalm 147:3-6 TPT
Take a moment and reflect on the events that shaped you. The experiences – both good and bad – that affect how you think…how you see the world…how you see yourself.
Now take a deep breath and check in with yourself. How did that feel? Are there wounds in your heart that still need a healing touch?
Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry’s recent book, What Happened to You?, is based on a profound, fundamental question. By asking “what happened to you?” instead of “what’s wrong with you?” we allow the space for a significant shift in perspective that helps provide the opportunity for us to gain radical new insights that can help us live more fulfilling lives.
What happened to us shapes and colors what we think – whether we are aware of it or not. If there were unmet needs that we had in childhood, those needs will continue to manifest in some form in our adult life and affect how we interact with others and respond to events …unless those areas are addressed and healed.
This was my story. I learned to deal with difficult events from life by holding my breath, by freezing until the difficult or uncomfortable event had passed by. By pushing past the pain, I did get through these times of deep wounding, but I continued to carry with me a heavy load of unaddressed emotions, suffering and discomfort. In response, I became fiercely independent, which can be a fantastic trait for some, but in pushing the bounds of independence too far I unintentionally shut myself off from needing anyone else, even God. My coping mechanism of independence had created a false sense that I had life under control.
Fast forward many years later and I could no longer hide the brokenness. In walking through a very dark season in my life, the Lord met me in a place where I could no longer hide from Him. It is in this place that I learned the complexities of healing for my entire self – my soul, body and spirit. It is in this place that I learned to welcome in Jehovah Shalom – the God of Peace. Instead of freezing from my trauma – from my story – He held me by the hand as I courageously pressed into my pain, into my fears and cast all my cares at the feet of Jesus. It was in this place of surrender that He healed the wounds of my shattered heart.
Are you in need of the Lord’s healing touch today? If so, invite God into the intimate spaces in your heart – the scars, the pain, the wounds. If you aren’t sure where to begin, you may find the below prayer as a helpful starting place to your invitation to God.
Heavenly Father,
You are the creator of everything in this universe – including me. The God who separated heaven from earth is the same God that knit me together in my mother’s womb. You chose me and called me by name. But while your Word says that I am wonderfully made and precious in Your sight, I confess that I don’t always believe that is true. The things that were done to me, the things that were said to me, the love that I never received – these all are too much for me to bear. There is pain that has taken up residence in my spirit, soul and body and while I know I am carrying a load that I was never meant to carry, I’m not sure how to release this load to You. I ask that You please come alongside me in this journey. I thank You that You are a loving and kind God and I admit that I have not allowed myself to experience the fullness of your love and kindness because I simply did not know how. Come into my heart, come into my life, come into my memories of my past – provide the healing touch that only You are able to provide. Lead me to Your rivers of healing water with your divine love. I trust You. Amen.