The question

Why admit we’ve been abused? We’ve gotten away, after all. We’ve created distance between ourselves and our parents. We have our own things, our own family perhaps, our own world. We don’t need to go back over things, right? Forgive and forget, we’re told. No need to go back. What’s done is done.

But it isn’t done, as in over. It isn’t in the past. In fact, it has followed us in every conceivable way.

Abuse taking place in our formative years creates an ongoing trial. It crawls inside and takes up residence. It becomes part of us, coloring how we see ourselves, how we see others, how we see the world and our place in it. Abuse messes with our understanding of the body, sexuality, relationships, authority, autonomy, masculinity, femininity, and even divinity. There is no aspect of our lives left untainted by abuse. Those of us who have been abused stagger into adulthood.

And, yet, there is reason for celebration!

“Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.” (Psalm 27:10)

Just how does this reception of us by God apply in practical terms? Oh, this is the question! And its answer lays out for us nothing less than healing, transformation, and a peace beyond understanding (cf. Philippians 4:7).

Reflection

How does Psalm 27:10 apply to you, both in the past and now? Are you willing to ponder the answers?

Prayer

Dear God, what does Psalm 27 mean? What did it mean for me growing up, and what does it mean for me now? If I am willing to admit things, if I am willing to go back, will I find You there? If I am willing to work here in my present life, will You be there as well? Help me to understand what this means. Increase my trust in You. Amen.