Healing the Wounds of Abuse

By Mary Nash with Rachel Olsen

In this month's issue of P31 Woman, Mary Nash told the touching story of her experience with childhood abuse and the way she came to know healing through Christ Jesus. Mary also offered five tips for abused women in need of restoration. Each tip is reprinted here, with additional resources added.

Share your feelings with a caring friend, pastor or counselor. Choose a counselor who has worked with abused women. It is a special field requiring special understanding. Here is a link to an article on how to choose a Christian counselor: http://cbn.org/spirituallife/prayerandcounseling/choosing_a_christian_counselor.asp

Join a support group. Churches with recovery groups are great sources of information and help. Try looking in the newspaper, or on local churches web sites to find a group meeting near you.

Pray. Only God can fully understand and completely heal your pain. The book Survivor Prayers: Talking with God About Childhood Sexual Abuse by Catherine Foote may be helpful as you get started.

Read. Arm yourself with information from the lives of other Christians who have dealt with abuse. - Door of Hope by Jan Frank - No Place to Cry, The Hurt and Healing of Sexual Abuse by VanStone/Lutzer - The Wounded Heart by Dan Allender - Shelter From the Storm by Cynthia Kubetin and James Mallory, M.D. - Making Peace With Your Past by Tim Sledge - Coming Out of the Dark by Mary Southerland - Broken Trust: Surviving Sexual Abuse video by Dan Allender

Choose to get help. Understand that you are a victim and that the abuse was not your fault. Then make the commitment to deal with the pain of abuse and, through God's healing power, and move forward in life. Here are more resources to aid you: - American Association of Christian Counselors http://www.aacc.net - Christian Counselor's Directory http://christiantherapist.com - Christians in Recovery online community
http://www.christians-in-recovery.com - Freedom in Christ forgiveness article http://www.ficm.org/questions/ques18.htm