Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Podcast Central

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
Reflections of Grace 120: Confronting the Elephant in the Room

Reflections of Grace 120: Confronting the Elephant in the Room

Last updated on: May 19, 2016 at 8:00 am by Christian Podcast Central

Reflections of Grace 120: Confronting the Elephant in the Room 2016-05-18T09:17:33-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Reflections of Grace Slider2

Reflections of Grace 120: Confronting the Elephant in the Room Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Because I am an advocate that stands up for those who have been victims of childhood abuse and…

Because I am a healed survivor of my own past of childhood abuse…

I once again feel the need to speak up on behalf of that group of people that even the church tries to shush up…because the disclosure is so uncomfortable for them…so it is easier to sweep it under the rug and pretend we don’t know these things are happening every day.

When are we going to start confronting the elephant in the room that most will ignore and pretend it is not there?
Silencing victims by saying that this shouldn’t be talked about, or should remain within families, says to a victim that this is something to be ashamed of.
That they are in fact damaged goods.

When these crimes are called out and discussed in a public forum, the offender alone should bear both the responsibility and the shame. These matters need to be discussed not only for prevention, but also for healing.

Image: The Mama Bear Effect

Victims need to be heard. They need to be believed. They need to know that what happened was not their fault. We bear witness to their suffering when we give them a voice.

The only way we can ever hope to stop abuse is if we are willing to talk about it and admit that it happens. We need to allow them to speak out! To be transparent without fear of reprisal or shame or embarrassment. We also need to acknowledge that the Christian community is not exempt from this horror. But it is not something that is often spoke about or expose within the church gatherings.

I believe this will change.

As Ann Voscamp so adequately puts it:

“Because People of the Church are to be those who stand up so safe places open up, who lead by always going lower, who expose and confront abuse everywhere they find it, so the hope of the Gospel can be of use anywhere it goes.

Because People of the Cross are to be witnesses for the suffering, and responders to the victims, and testifiers of Truth, no matter the cost, no matter the risk, because Christ is The Truth — and where there isn’t Truth, there isn’t Christ. Why ever hide or cover-up the Truth?”

And to those still walking in their victimhood:

Our wounds from childhood abuse bring messages with them…they have a common theme of “you’re worthless, you have no value, you are a flawed person, no one will love you, you are ugly” ….

And when those wounds were delivered to you with such pain, they felt true.

They pierced your heart.

So, you accepted the message as fact. You embraced the worthless verdict on yourself.

The vows of silence we made as children act like a deep-seated agreement with the messages of our wounds. Because it was all about survival. There was nothing else that could penetrate that agreement with our pain. The vows we made acted like a kind of covenant with the messages that came with our deep wounds.

And it is a deep hole of darkness.

We know that the word tells us where two or three agree on a matter it shall be done. This can work in the negative as well. When we, as victims of our past, set ourselves in agreement with the enemy that there is something wrong with us, we begin to live in exactly that place.

Those childhood vows are very dangerous things. They change the course of our life.

We have to renounce the messages as lies ….it is the way to unlock the door to Jesus. Agreements lock the door from the inside. Renouncing the agreements unlocks the door to Him…
to Jesus…

He will move into those heavily veiled places within our soul and be there with us in that place of pain and abuse…..and deliver us and heal us from the past. I don’t know how He does it. But I can attest to the fact that He does.

Because he did for me!

(If you want to read my story of being a child victim of incest, you can find my memoir “Climbing Out of the Box.” on Amazon.)

To you precious abuse survivors reading this:

Never forget that there is hope for healing. Although life after trauma is messy and working through the pain is difficult, it is absolutely worth the fight.

May you rest in the hope of a God who cradles his wounded children in his arms as his own body is wracked with tears for the suffering you have endured.

And He will heal you to the point that the past will not affect your future.

He will feed His flock like a shepherd: He will gather the lambs in His arms, He will carry them in His bosom and will gently lead those that have their young. (Isaiah 40:11)**

Jesus I give myself to you. I give my life to you. I surrender me…totally and completely. Forgive all my hurtful ways. Forgive my self-protecting ways and all of my chasing after other comforters. Come and be my Savior, Healer, my Love…

(If you are a survivor of childhood abuse and haven’t worked through the steps to healing please contact me for coaching on my home page above or leave a comment here.)

Previous Post

May 18, 2016

Transform: Made for Greatness.. A Modern Day Myth

Next Post

May 19, 2016 Jesus in HD 158: What Does It Feel Like to be God?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz