Monday, December 28, 2009

Unlocking


Unlocking

What do you do with trauma? Bad memories? Struggles? Problems? Mistakes? Pain? Hurt? When you’re life for whatever reasons has issues like this, what do you do? Do you bury it? Hide it? Live in denial? Many people try to keep it all in and lock it down and throw away the key, but the problem is that never works? You cannot bury or hide stuff, because it eventually it resurfaces because unresolved stuff is “unresolved” so it comes back in the form of anger, walls, mood swings, resentment, bitterness, poor decisions, broken relationships, turmoil, drama, etc….Junk in our lives does just not magically go away. You can’t sweep it under a rug, pretend it never happened, doesn’t exist, or bury it.

Imagine every time you have a problem or issue that you didn’t deal with, resolve, or handle, and you tried to bury or hide it you were given a 2lb rock to carry around in a backpack. Eventually your backpack would be full of 2lb rocks and it would be too heavy to carry. Emotional baggage is a lot heavier and harder to carry and has more long-term damage to you. It affects your personality, relationships, attitude, faith(if you have any), present, and future.

That is why it’s crucial that you deal with things as they come and do not procrastinate with your spiritual, mental, and emotional health. If you bury enough stuff, it will bury you. You will isolate yourself from healthy relationships, make bad decisions, poor choices, and go from one broken relationship to another and leave a trail of hurt to others in the process.

I think the key is to recognize whatever hurt or pain there is and begin looking for ways to resolve it, deal with it, heal it, or handle it. Whether that is prayer, counsel, medication, or seeking professional help. I think ultimately seeking God and using Him, His church, and His word will help you tremendously. I obviously know if there is serious damage or pain in your life you may need to seek out professional help and avenues. Either way, do not bury, ignore, or try and hide your issues or you will cause even greater damage to yourself and others. The sooner you deal with stuff the sooner you can begin the road to healing, wholeness, and happiness again.

Sometimes we think the best thing to do is keep it to ourselves, hide it, bury it, pretend it’s not there, or act like everything is ok. It’s not ok, and it will never be ok until we deal with it. Some people live entire lives and never deal with their pain or mistakes. Some people, never realize the damage they do to themselves and others by not addressing the hurt or pain in their lives. Sometimes people live an endless cycle of using drugs, alcohol, sex, people, relationships, habits, and hobbies to try and “fix” their pain, only to continue the cycle.

If you need help, get it. Ask people you know or trust to help you. Seek God. Half the battle is admitting you have been burying or hiding or avoiding stuff. It’s time to break the lock and let it out before it destroys you.

“Cast all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you.” I Peter 5:7(NIV)

2 comments:

Cat said...

Not letting go is like letting a cancer grow inside you. It's healthier to let go and move on.

Jason Thomas said...

I know it's very hard for people, I struggle with that in some areas.