Spiritual Voyages

In January 2026, on page 22, Blue Ridge Christian News published the contents come from my personal story: how I went from emotional brokenness to healing and wholeness..

I hope my musings will bring you hope if you are wrestling an unwelcome temptest.

Living on the Gulf Coast, I know too well that a “double-red flag day” means the water is so stirred up and dangerous, the ocean is closed to swimmers. 

When storms roll in, I reverence the frothy, angry emerald waters near Pensacola Beach, FL.  It is nothing to blink an eye over.

When looking at the grandiosity of  an indignant ocean, I venture to myself, “Only a fool would venture out into those crashing waves.”

Psalm 42:7 (AMP) describes a similar, unwelcome tempest.

The psalmist’s description of watery billows are detailed as “rolling waves and breakers.” This metaphor is likened to one having feelings of difficulty, despair and deep suffering.

Perhaps you are in the middle of an overwhelming hardship.

Maybe you are “hoping against all hope” that the year 2026 will be the one where the “overwhelming scourge does not come near your dwelling.” (Ref Isaiah 28:18 KJV)

As I have walked though difficult seasons of my life, I believe the simplest take away is,  In troublesome circumstances, we all long for God, and He never disappoints – despite not getting the outcome we want.

During trials, as we press in to fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we find the ultimate deep source of comfort and connection.

As a child therapist and working in behavioral health for almost 25 years, I wish I knew then what I know now.

Learning how to uproot unhelpful beliefs-  such as saying to ourselves, “we are not important” and replacing negative cognitions with something more positive like, “I am unique…. I am wonderful just the way I am….I deserve peace….” are certainly helpful, but the blatant truth is: Jesus alone can truly heal our sorrows.  

Very plainly, it is my belief that if Jesus is Lord over our conscious and unconscious realm, this includes Him declaring victory over our timeline – backwards and forwards.

I trust we can all agree that God is omnipotent and omnipresent; to me, this means that He is very present, “large, and in charge” in our personal struggles. 

After spending time in prayer and healing, it’s as if the Son of God has a magic eraser, or some kind of Holy antidote. His supernatural power is able to dull the pain as we remember disturbed times.

I theorize that our passionate, Heavenly Father can retrieve old memories and over-rule harm that past trauma has wrought. He can replace the enemies lies and inject His living, potent Truth.

The words of the psalmist from Psalm 131 are branded on my innermost being, “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself…. My soul is (settled) even as a weaned child.”

​Suffice it to say, the struggle I have endured to get my mind, memory and emotions healed by fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit has lasted intermittently for about ten years. 

​As I recall this decade in my life, I tell my friends “I was really good at carpet time.”

​This is a snapshot of what my experience with God looked like.

“I need my mommy,” the three year old voice seemed to scream in my head.  I could almost hear the audible words of my troubled, inner narrative groping for maternal comfort.

By now, after all the countless times of being petitioned to come away from my busy day as a stay-at-home mom, I wasn’t alarmed when these big, scary emotions demanded my immediateattention. 

The reoccurring flashback continued. I could almost  taste the terror in my throat.

I stopped my household chores. I put my “to-do” list on pause. 

Everything was put on hold as I rushed down the hallway to my college-age son’s vacant room and sprawled out – face down on the tired, soiled carpet.

Kneeling before the Lord, I poured out my complaint to Him; my emotions reeled with rejection, shame and abandonment. I was again soaked in tears – uttering groans without words.

But without fail, at my make-shift memorial in the empty 4th bedroom, the Holy Spirit brought me great comfort.

Looking back, I guess I had grace for this divine interruption and overhaul. This scenario has happened multiple times over the years. 

By now, I understood this process of inner healing. I knew God was calling me to Him; He was unearthing difficult childhood memories standing in the way of me being able to function as an adult. ​​ ​

Jesus as my “big brother and divine advocate” gently, but thoroughly, combed through the hurtful, soul-wounds: things in my nervous system and/or memory that wrecked me. 

He longed to tenderly bind up my barely conscious, gaping wounds; ones, in particular, that were severely aggravated by this ongoing divorce. [The divorce I fought against for twelve years]. 

It seemed I had no power over the hidden “mother wounds” that forced their way up to the surface, dispossessing me having any ability to conquer the moment of the  “here and now.”  

The outcome of my simple, childlike, submissive prayer,  “El Shaddai, help!” was truly beneficial as “God, the breasted one” came with provision and nourishment I so desperately craved.

I was assured I would be given the strength to carry on. Without a doubt, I was confident God would remove my discontentedness; I would again enjoy the quiet peace within. I could function again like an adult!

In summary, despite life’s storms that come threatening to knock us down, may the statement of faith be, “Yet the Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime and in the night His song shall be with me.” (Ref Psalm 42:8) AMP

My prayer for you is that January 2026 begins the “Acceptable year of the Lord.” That His divine favor would bind up your broken heart. That you mourn no longer, but are now comforted. That the oil of gladness will lift your spirit. That praise will be your garment and your Heavenly Father will be glorified.” (Reference Isaiah 61: 1-4)