A season for emotional healing

 

 

Yes, that is what Christmas means to me this year; a season for emotional healing.

This because this year, this particular Christmas season, God has led me to help so many people who are in bondage because of past hurts and wounds incurred in the past.

I have had to help people get up from the fall of financial bankruptcy, disappointments in relationships, broken homes, family strife, divorce and the trauma caused by shameful experiences of the past.

What is your own story? Have you been abused, ostracized, rejected, hated, ridiculed and insulted?

Do not give up on life, there are still good people out there. Do not give up on yourself, you still have much to give out to the world. Do not give up on God, because He will never give up on you.

Yes, someone hurt you in the past. But they do not deserve that you continue suffering for their sake. Face that pain squarely and tell it ” I’m not letting you kill me…I’m bigger than this…I’m not done with life yet…”

Do not take that hurt into the new year. I challenge you to lay it down at the feet of your Savior, Jesus. Dare to speak out…share it with someone who cares. It will lift off some of the pain. Face that person and tell them what they did wasn’t right. If they acknowledge it, good, if not, you would have taken a load off your chest.

Just do something about it.

Shalom, Gretiana

 

 

Lord, if it be your will take this away…

 

If you’ve never been there, then you’re never going to really understand what is at stake in their life; so why not just pray for them and leave it at that?

Why not just hold back that comment and observe instead?

They may not be as complacent as you think.

They may be spending sleepless nights over it.

They may be in the middle of a fast because of it.

They might have begged God a hundred times to take that thing away.

Perhaps they’ve got their lessons to learn;

Perhaps it’s a thorn in their flesh they have to live with;

Perhaps their faith is being tried;

Perhaps….God alone knows why.

Do not put that label on them;

Do not make that conclusion you are about to make;

Do not judge, categorize and condemn.

Rather, ask from God the wisdom and discernment to see beyond the physical,

Then you may begin to understand what they are having to endure.

 

 

Never become too spiritual for God to handle

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No matter what happens…

Admire people who have been through a lot and still keep their head up. Head Up! Even though you are going through a tough time. This is a must attitude during healing journey. Image credit : Pixabay – PublicDomainPictures

via Quote of the day # 17 : Head Up — Rebellious Scapegoat

Dare to look away…

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Moving on…not easy but very necessary

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It takes courage and much more…

When you’ve been abused, mistreated, used and dumped

It takes courage, the willingness to forgive

And the desire to live again

To give out your heart another time.

That’s why we must never exert pressure on people

To open up their hearts to us.

We deserve openness and genuineness in every relationship

But we must give people the time to change,

To heal and to willingly open up again.

Trying to force it out of them can be counter  productive

NO matter how much you love them and want to be with them

Just be gentle enough to let them loosen up naturally and at a  pace

That is comfortable for them.

They may really be in love,

But still needing time to get on the rails

Do not be impatient when they seem reticent

Let the rose unfold naturally.

Love and Blessing, Gretiana

 

Two broken hearts

They love each other

But they are too afraid

To let give in to each other

To express that feeling that’s burning inside.

They’ve loved before

And got hurt in the process

They are afraid to get hurt again

So they’ve become too careful

Too careful to give it away.

And they end up hurting each other,

Because they don’t want to be hurt again.

What’s that label you carry?

You do not have to accept that tag, that label, that name life has given you.

You can shake it off and get for yourself one that fits your taste and that looks like what you want to be called.

God can peel off that label for you and give you a brand new one tailored after His plan and purpose for your life.

Do not live your life behind the very label you hate. Shake it off. You deserve better than that.

 

 

 

Smile

Be generous with your smile this season

Someone is lonely, hurting, in pain.

They need the strength to face another day.

Don’t take it for granted that this is a season of joy

Some are still searching for that magic moment

Others are trying to balance that equation

That equation you get so easily.

Let someone know you care.

Give that smile away.

 

 

I know you are hurting

I know you are hurting

I can see the tears

I feel your pain

But I value the final product

More than the process

Your destination will make you forget

The pains of the process

When you lift that trophy up high

You’ll forget the painful training process

Be very strong and courageous.

God

Unable to say “NO”? check your motives

You’re afraid of hurting people; you’re a people-pleaser.

• You want to be loved and accepted.
• The false doctrine that says love never says “No”.
• You crave to be applauded and appreciated.
• You are simply complying to and perpetuating a tradition.
• You’re under peer pressure.
• You lack the courage to stand alone and be different.

The inability to say “No” could have negative consequences that far out-weigh the above motives for saying “Yes”.

No matter how good you are you will never be able to please everybody, so stop trying.

Let wisdom guide you to say a polite “NO” and a courageous “Yes” as the need arises.

The hardest thing I ever did in my life was try to please everybody; and I failed.

 

Do you often have difficulties in saying “No”? What are your reasons?

It won’t go away.

She was the only one in the family who never went to college; she was the only one who had an abortion and had a baby out of wedlock. She alone got divorced and brought shame to the reputable family name. She also had an issue with drugs and hung out with the wrong company.

Her siblings and lived in a world very different from the one she knew. Her parents were embarrassed by her attitude and wondered who could have brought such a strange seed into the family blood line.

Then to put the final icing on the cake, she left home. If she ever thought this will break the heart of her parents then she was very wrong. Her departure was a welcome relief. ‘The plague that soiled the family name was finally wiped off.’ No one missed her; no one cried that evening when everyone came back from church and realized her stuff was gone; she too.

Years later, a shadow was seen in the distance approaching the house with cautious and calculated steps. The autumn sunset could not hide the deep contemplative expression on her face. The front door opened; she could not find it in herself to smile at the faces and eyes that seemed to see through her. But the expression on those faces didn’t encourage her in that direction either.

“Mama, I came back…I’ve changed mama…I’m no longer the same person who left home. I want to be part of the family again….”

The look on mama’s face told her to stop it. She wasn’t welcome back home. She could stay, but she wasn’t welcome.

She had changed indeed. She had put some order in her life. She had swept under the carpet, emptied her closet and dusted the platforms; but for some reason her past kept haunting her. No one wanted to believe in the new version of her. That same cold look on their faces.

Her presence in the house forced a new regime and lifestyle on other members of the family. ‘Don’t leave your purse carelessly around. Lock your room when you go out…’the list goes on.

How she longed to be seen as a normal person. How she yearned to be just another child, mama’s child. Who saw the tears she cried in secret, praying and hoping that they will see how much she had laid down and how much more she had taken up on the road of self-realization.

“If I could just be forgiven, accepted, loved and trusted then I will show them how much I’ve learned and how much more and want to learn.”

She has changed; she has become a Christian. But for some reason, neither church nor family dare give her a second chance. So where does she go from here?

Those who have given up on you will soon start rewriting their journal entries. Be faithful on the good path you have chosen and do not quit in the face of adversity.