Welcome

It’s Time to Unpack Your Baggage

We all have a past. Despite how capable our parents were, none of us escape childhood without some type of baggage because no one parents perfectly. It’s inevitable that everyone enters adulthood with at least a little damage. It’s just the way it is.

When we don’t deal with our past or repair any incorrect thinking we’ve picked up during childhood, we end up feeling unfulfilled, discontented, and fragmented. It is at this point we begin searching for a way to cope with our dissatisfaction.

Leaving behind the damage—the baggage caused by childhood trauma, abuse, sexual abuse, abandonment, or neglect—doesn’t happen by pretending it never existed. Denial doesn’t heal trauma. Instead, it creates slaves to addiction, disassociation, eating disorders, grief, depression, over-spending, self-mutilation, risky sexual behavior, and relationship dysfunction.

In an attempt to manage our residual feelings, we look to coping mechanisms which eventually take over our life. Dependence on anything other than God is a slippery slope that speeds out of our control very quickly. Destructive thinking leads to overwhelming strongholds that seem impossible to overcome.

While striving for happiness, we sometimes end up where we never intended to be. I know this because it’s my story. Due to stuffing away childhood sexual abuse for years, denial had me dragging my baggage around, ending up in one ruinous circumstance after another. My plans often ended badly. But God’s plan never includes us arriving at such destructive destinations. Most of us can bring good out of good, but only God can bring good out of bad. God did that with my life; he took the landscape of a ruined life and created new life out of what seemed dead. This is why I write and share the way to freedom.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:4, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (NLT)

God is always willing to show us the way out of our ruins. He uses those he has already restored to light the way for us. His plan is always restoration. He wants to restore us to a joy-filled life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Don’t get me wrong—having a relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean we will never struggle again. It means, with dependence on the Holy Spirit, we can have the joy of the Lord, even in the midst of turmoil. Yes, restoration comes through Jesus Christ alone.

What we know is that God is big. He is powerful. He is supernatural. He can do great healing in us if we have the faith and courage to face our problems. Self-help tools are great for creating understanding, but only Jesus can heal. He can break any bondage. He can change any destructive behavior. He can repair any damaged thinking. He can put new feelings to old memories. Without Jesus, we are stuck in the mud of dysfunction with no hope for change. With him, change is possible. The past doesn’t have to predict the future.

In this course, there are ten lessons comprised of impactful content with reflection questions at the end of each session. Reflect on what you have learned, then go deeper by answering the thought-provoking questions. These questions are designed to allow you to process your past individually and find healing through seeking God’s input. As you work through the lessons, lean on Jesus. Great freedom takes a greater power than human effort can provide. Jesus provides the supernatural power needed if you abide in him and let him lead.

I am praying for you, my friend. Stay the course. Stay faithful. Jesus will make things happen.

Thank you for trusting me by choosing Restored. May you see great freedom established in your life.