An excerpt from my book, From Pain to Power: Overcoming Sexual Trauma & Reclaiming Your True Identity, from the chapter, “I Have Walked Where You Walk”
“My journey of restoration began with a person in authority who finally took me seriously and, unlike others, believed me. I mention this because none of us can do the work of healing and being restored alone. You and I need others who show us they can be trusted, and we need helpers with expertise in a variety of areas to come alongside us in the healing journey. To assist your restoration, I want you to know I stand with you. I don’t promise a quick or easy solution, but I do commit to helping straighten out the questions marks that surround you. I want to help rebuild your confidence, your sense of personal worth, and a clear view of the power you possess as a daughter of God.
You can awaken from the numbness that follows violation. You can be reintroduced to God and his desire to bring about your regeneration. He wants to restore you to the person he made you to be. (It is understandable, if not expected, that you may vacillate in your confidence in God. That is an area we will look at during the journey.)
Having gone through my own dread of trusting someone to care about me and having witnessed the doubt and faith cycles of my family, friends, and clients, I know it is natural to question and doubt. You are invited to think, feel, and express to God what you are really going through. No one here will judge you, and God will not disown one of his children.
Later in the book we will work through concepts, homework, prayers, guided imagery for picturing Christ’s healing, and other practical measures you can use to honor and grow into the person God made you to be. Keep your questions close while you open your mind and heart in the safety and privacy of your reading. Be who you are, doubts and all.
Let’s step into this together, just one foot in front of the other. My daily prayer is that God richly and abundantly blesses you with his restorative comfort and provision.”