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If we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us of all sin. (1 John 1:7) Darkness and light are not just metaphors. They are spiritual realities. Scripture invites us to come into the light, and bring all of our ‘stuff’ into the light as well. We come into the light through honesty, willingness, exposure, and requests for help. We bring our true authentic vulnerabilities to the table, along with all the fears, problems, and even raw shame and yuckiness inside. The light is an environment of trust. Where we trust in the sufficiency of Christ and the promises of God’s mercy to…

We can more easily cooperate with the process of healing when we realize that God takes extreme care when dealing with our broken hearts. We usually want to rush healing and growth to get rid of the pain and fix the problem. In our desperate attempts to ‘get better quick’, we often cause more damage as we frantically scramble for shortcuts and quick fixes to our hurts and pains. In some cases, we might reach for a pill, or a bottle, or some other short term vice just to take the edge off and escape the pain, even if just for a few moments. Or in a more Christian context, we want an instant miracle or the prayer that is…

The unhealed soul often wants to return to the past in an attempt to understand, resolve, or fix a tragic memory. Our mind somehow replays the memory as it tries to find resolution and peace. The problem is that the past cannot be changed. We can try to go back in our ‘emotional time machine’ and imagine how we could make things different. Or we can rehearse and relive the past over and over for some reason. But none of those strategies fix anything. For any steps forward, we have to let the past be in the past. We can learn from it. And we can intentionally go back there to deal with a few things. But we can’t live…