Some retreat from the world. Many just survive. A few turn their trauma into something good
for others – what I call a post-traumatic transformation.
One time a young girl named Joan, was abducted and
murdered by a neighbor. Her mother was
shattered, suicidal, and laid in bed all day.
Why get up? Because she had 2
other children depending on her, and they needed lunch. Then doing the next thing after that. At time went on, she wanted to honor her
daughter’s life and spirit. She
collected signatures, spoke in schools and libraries, which lead to Joan’s Law
that requires life sentences for sex offenders who kill children, signed into
law in 1988.
Charles Lindburgh’s 20-month-old son was kidnapped and
killed in 1932. He pressed for the
Lindbergh Law which allowed federal agents to pursue kidnappers across state
lines. Candy Lightner founded Mothers
Against Drunk Driving (MADD). In 2002,
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and beheaded in
Pakistan. His parents founded
fellowships for journalists, including many Muslim journalists. These people heeded the Biblical instruction,
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
God turned his own trauma into something to help many
others. When the authorities executed
God’s Son, God raised Him from the dead and sent his Spirit to help his people,
which inspired the apostles to do miracles in his name and spread the gospel to
the world. When the Apostle Paul was put
in prison for preaching the good news of Jesus, he shared God’s Word with the
guards and wrote inspirational letters to the churches that he’d started;
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians were written from a prison
cell.
For many years, I was discouraged and depressed by the
chronic pain in my back and neck, as well as my fibromyalgia. The negatives outweighed the positives. But after I started a group to help others with chronic illness and chronic
pain, I felt such deep joy and satisfaction.
All those years of pain were being used for something good. It was like God had redeemed all those bad
experiences I’d had, and made something good to help others.
Now, consider the traumas that you’ve gone through,
and how God has healed you and helped you to survive. How can you use that experience to help
others? Maybe you know someone going
through a similar experience and could offer them a word of understanding and
encouragement, as well as a helping hand.
That would transform your trauma into something good that helps other
people.
As we say in Rotary Club, will it be beneficial to all
concerned? Pastor Rick Warren says that
God doesn’t waste a hurt; instead, God uses our hurts to teach us to help
others.
