Does your heart quake in today’s world for your children and grandchildren? Are you prepared to teach them the way they should go?

In Genesis, Chapter 1, the Bible describes God bringing order to a dark, formless, and void world. I believe this gives us scope for what’s on His Heart for us to do.  He brought order into the darkness by forming and speaking to it.

In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet from a very early age was crying out to God’s people to come out of spiritual darkness and turn to the only one that could save them. In Chapter 29 verse 11, God reveals that He has plans of welfare for His people, for a future and a hope.

As parents, our quest should be to help our children fulfill the plans that God has for them. There are many ways we can do this but today’s article is on bringing them up in a safe and stable environment. Like, the one God originally created for us in the garden.

In our chaotic world, we can train up our children in the way they should go, Proverbs 22:6. We do this by helping them learn and memorize scriptures, teaching them to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, and nurturing and listening to them as they grow. With listening ears and caring hearts we can instill good patterns in our children so they are able to grow up equipped for success.

Unfortunately, we live in a turbulent world which wars with sound Biblical values. Because of this, we can experience trauma in many ways growing up. In The Life Model, a book on the Essentials of Christian Living, it defines two forms of trauma.

• Type A Trauma is destructive because of the absence of good things. Good things consist of being cherished and encouraged, receiving safe physical touch such as hugs, setting healthy, safe boundaries, giving adequate provision for housing and essentials, being taught to do hard things and think for themselves, and given opportunities to develop their talents and personal resources.
• Type B Trauma is bad things that happen.  Physical abuse, violent spanking, verbal and sexual abuse, abandonment, and second-hand trauma that comes from hearing or seeing another abused are some culprits of this type of trauma.

Most of us have experienced trauma in our early years. The good news is that there is healing and hope for restoration no matter the severity.

King David experienced severe trauma though out his life but his consistent turning to the Lord for answers, according to the Psalms, created in him a clean heart and steadfast spirit to overcome his trials.

In the New Testament, Jesus promises us He came to Earth so we could have an abundant life, John 10:10.  An abundant life is knowing that He can do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we can ask or imagine, Ephesians 3:20. Now that’s Good News!!

Putting your trust in a good, loving God that can heal us and provide anything we need for life and godliness is what can turn around any adverse affect of trauma in our lives.  Read my blog Times of Crisis for more answers and ways to prepare us when traumatic events happen.

A good resource for understanding how childhood trauma can affect our health in our adult years is in The Importance of Safe, Stable and Nurturing Environments for Young Children.

Do you need healing from the scars that childhood trauma has left in your life?  Does your heart long for a peaceful, abundant life in Jesus?  It’s just a prayer away.  Put your trust in Jesus and search His Word for answers and rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth.  An abundant life is waiting for you!  

Please leave a comment on ways that have helped you overcome trauma in your life. Or if you need more information on the subject of childhood trauma and would like to talk further, send me an email at livefreeandwhole@gmail.com.