I’ve spent most of my life running from my past. I’ve boxed up memories, thoughts, and things I felt too painful to face. And because of this, I lived in chains.
Fear of the reminders.
Anxiety about the memories.
Avoidance of people, places, things that would spark the thoughts that brought pain.
I was living, but I wasn’t living freely or fully.
One of my top priorities was to live without accepting what had happened in my past. In denial, I could claim some sense of sanity. My past had become an idol of sorts. I would do anything to avoid it, even avoid God. And so when my past came knocking, as anything we run from eventually will, my faith suffered immensely.
It was my sophomore year of college when all my running finally caught up with me. I was flooded with memories, flashbacks, shame that I couldn’t stop. It overwhelmed me and took me to a dark place.
It was in that place that I thought God had abandoned me. Satan had a tight grasp on my heart because of my past.
Satan knew that my past held the power to drive me away from God.
For months I was crippled, still desperately clinging to any ounce of strength I had to keep running, to keep pushing it away.
It was in that dark, rock-bottom place that God started to whisper something to me. My pain and my past were not meant to be hidden. They were meant to bring glory to God and serve as a pathway for others to come to know Him.
I was not made to run from my past, I was made to brave my past for God’s glory.
We all face the decision to either run from our past or bravely face it. I realized I had to stop running. My faith depended on it.
Little by little, I found ways to face the painful memories I pushed so far away. Little by little, God began to break chains that tangled my heart. As I took the leap of faith, God gave me the strength and power to fight it and to find freedom.
Facing the past is not easy. Especially when you’ve been running for years. It takes an immense amount of prayer, scripture, friendship and often counseling or mentorship.
I want to share with you some of the powerful ways I found the strength to brave my past.
Embracing the hope of healing gave me the strength to turn and face the painful parts of my past.
When we can recognize the healing that God offers beyond the painful veil of avoiding the past, we can find the faith and strength to face it.
God is working to redeem you and to heal you. He is always working for your good. Take these truths as nuggets of hope to help you brave your past.
Embracing the hope of healing gives us strength to turn and face the painful parts of our past. Share on XWriting out prayers and journaling is so important in each step of braving the past.
Facing the painful parts of our life can be an emotional roller coaster and if you’re anything like me, you’re going to need something to cling to.
Written prayers help me to pray the tough things, even when I feel I cannot form the words myself. It helps me to pray when my heart feels lost or unwilling.
And journaling helps me to remember the truths I’ve learned as I’ve taken each step forward in finding healing. It’s so easy to forget the truths when the painful feelings resurface. Writing them down gives space to clearly see what God has been doing, even when we feel He is far away.
Finding support and accountability is powerful in finding healing from our past.
Some of us have friends we can go to no matter the time of day or depth of topic. And some of us don’t. Whether you have those friends or not, it is still so important to find people who you can go to for support and accountability.
It can be a friend, spouse, mentor, pastor, counselor or therapist. I recommend all of the above!
When facing the painful parts of our past, we need those who can point us to Christ. We are called to carry each other’s’ burdens. Don’t forget to allow others the opportunity to support you.
We are made to brave our past. God wants to bring healing and redemption into the parts of your past that you fear facing. Share on XI want to encourage you to consider any part of your past that you avoid or deny…
What is keeping you from facing it?
What fears do you have? A
How can you take just one small step in braving the past in order to find hope and healing?
Nicole Kauffman is a wife, blogger and passionate follower of Christ. Her blog, Courage. Hope. Love. was founded to encourage, inspire and guide Christians to deeper hope and joy in the Lord. Nicole lives in Pennsylvania with her God-seeking husband and family. She is an aspiring author who loves to grow relationships, mentor and explore the beauty of God’s creation all around. She’s hoping you will join her on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Catch Up On Previous Made for Brave Stories
Download Your Made for Brave Manifesto!
Sisters, we are called to walk the way of hope instead of the way of defeat. We must claim more than our title of “Daughter of the King.” We must step up and also claim our position.
And we must claim these together. As a sisterhood; a sisterhood of brave women who stand strong in the promises of who God is and who we are.
- We all are Made for Brave.
- We are made to live for something authentic and brave.
- In living brave, we silence the past, transform the future, and take a front row seat to God’s wild and uncontainable love!
So, I’m inviting you to join this Made for Brave Sisterhood, each Monday as we share our stories and allow God to bring hope and healing. Let’s commit to being authentic and brave, one step at a time, side by side, holding each other up and nudging each other toward our true selves. And let’s claim the victory waiting on the other side of brave; for ourselves and our sisterhood.
Let’s celebrate our tears and our struggles as we peel away the layers of fear to reveal the beauty of brave.
Let’s risk everything that brave requires for everything that brave has to offer…
Becoming who we were created to be!
Join the Made for Brave Sisterhood Every Monday - Sharing our stories of becoming who we were created to be! #MadeforBrave #Sisterhood Share on XDo you have a Made for Brave story to share? Get the writing guidelines and submit your stories HERE!
