Trauma Soul Care • Practical Tools
Safe. Secure. Loved.
You are safe in the compassionate arms of God, secure in His unfailing love.
The fear, shame, and pain of our pasts can keep us feeling unwanted and unlovable. However, God sees, hears, knows, and loves us. We are always safe in God’s abundant love, no matter what.
Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear. (1 John 4:18)
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15 Practical Tips • Trauma Soul Care
These 15 practical tips can help us develop healthier ways to navigate everyday life.
6-Step Exploration of Trauma Soul Care
Don't let wounds of the past hold you back. Though healing is tough, every step is progress. Uncovering wounds teaches you something new about yourself. Curiosity and resilience give you the strength to face the past and explore unexpected paths.
Healthy Boundaries
Healthy boundaries (an important part of self-care) create an understanding of what we have responsibility for and what is outside of our control. The healthier our boundaries are, the greater our capacity to offer empathy and love to others. We are responsible for what happens inside us and for the ways we act and relate to others.
A Lifetime of Trauma
I was haunted by the past that had left trauma on my soul–as a child whose mother was plagued by illnesses and navigating my chronic illnesses.
Six-Step Exploration of Trauma Soul Care
“You have been wounded in many ways. The more you open yourself to being healed, the more you will discover how deep your wounds are. You will be tempted to become discouraged because, under every wound you uncover, you will find others. Your search for true healing will be a suffering search. Many tears still need to be shed. But do not be afraid. The simple fact that you are more aware of your wounds shows that you have sufficient strength to face them.” (Henri Nouwen)
1. LOVE
God cares about every detail of our lives. His mercies are new every morning. His grace is sufficient. He is our strength when we are weak. God loves us – always, no matter what.
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)
“If we could just be, for a few minutes each day, fully where we are, we would indeed discover that we are not alone and that the One who is with us wants only one thing: to give us love.” (Henri Nouwen)
You Are So Loved
Do you love yourself as God loves you? Do you live as if you’re valuable? Do you live as if you’re set free?
Self-Care for your Soul
Spend a little time getting to know God better— who He is, what He’s like, how He feels about us, and how He acts toward His creation. Sabbath rest helps us discover the peace only found trusting in God's presence.
The Gift of Biblical Self-Compassion
Recognizing that Jesus suffers with us (that we are God’s beloved children who are also flawed by sin) is a first brave step towards self-compassion.
Who does God say you are?
God sees you as someone of infinite value. He sees who you are in Christ, and who you will become as the Holy Spirit lives and breathes in you.
2. GRIEF
God is with us in our grief, pain, fear, and shame. While it’s often frightening to experience our losses and feelings, God’s steadfast love will comfort us as we grieve all that we’d hoped would be different.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” C.S. Lewis
Coping with Grief
14 Ways to Make a Difficult Day Brighter • Grief is a journey requiring steady sips of hope, plates filled with God’s unbroken promises, the comfort of community, replenishing rest, and fresh air and sunshine.
Sorrow, Lament & Grief
Grief is no stranger to those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability. It is both a universally-shared human experience and uniquely individual.
Metaphor • A Bridge Between Pain & Understanding
Metaphors spark new understandings by helping us express the difficult parts of our stories in more easily accessible ways. They help us explain a situation others may have little or no experience with.
Lament
Step in slowly. Sit with God. Allow yourself time and space to feel and experience your pain. When you’re ready, take up your pen and explore the precious and life-giving gift of lament.
3. HOPE
When we are open to holding on to possibility every day, we can live with hope-filled anticipation of what God will do in and through us.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
“When we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them into a common search for life, those very pains are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope.” Henri Nouwen
DISCOVERING HOPE: Beginning the Journey Toward Hope in Chronic Illness
Cindee Snider Re
This 10-chapter study invites participants to experience radical hope and compassionate change in a life with chronic illness.
No matter how dark the days, how wild the storm, how deep the valley, or how long the winter, there is hope.
There is always hope.
16 Verses to Ignite Hope
In the middle of prolonged illness, it can seem like God doesn't see you. Weakness and stress can make it difficult to hold onto hope. However, God's strength never falters. Allow these scriptures to sink deep into your heart, igniting hope as He carries you.
Where do I discover hope?
If you feel overwhelmed and need encouragement, these verses will give you courage and confidence. Why not meditate on them throughout your day and share them with your friends?
Called to Hope
Biblical hope is a settled, determined, and enduring confidence in who Jesus is and what He has promised. Our hope is in Christ alone. The mystery is Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
4. WORTH
Whether we’ve understood it or not, we’ve always belonged to our Heavenly Father, who ascribes the highest value to each of us. Our worth is determined by Him, not by others, the past, or our too-often misguided, internal compass. God’s voice says, “You are a pearl of great value, and I love you, always and forever.”
So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:31)
“When I trust deeply that today God is truly with me and holds me safe in a divine embrace, guiding every one of my steps, I can let go of my anxious need to know how tomorrow will look, or what will happen next month or next year. I can be fully where I am and pay attention to the many signs of God’s love within me and around me.” (Henri Nouwen)
EMBRACING WORTH: Understanding Your Value in a Life with Chronic Illness
Cindee Snider Re
This 10-chapter study powerfully reminds us that our value isn’t found in what we can or cannot do but in Christ alone. Regardless of what we’ve lost through chronic illness, this isn’t the end of our story. Despite our circumstances, in the midst of the hard when we’re not sure we can take even one more breath, God is still good.
Infinite Worth
He left the 99 to rescue me – yesterday, today, and always (Matthew 18:12 paraphrase). Our worth isn't based on who we are or what we can do but on who God is. We are the work of His hands.
You Are So Loved
Do you love yourself as God loves you? Do you live as if you’re valuable? Do you live as if you’re set free?
13 Verses to Lean Into
Lean into these verses, write them in a journal, choose one or two to memorize, and then think about who else might need to read them. The Word of God is alive and powerful, bringing us comfort in a way that nothing else can.
5. Purpose
Before we took our first breath, God had a purpose for our lives. Traumatic pasts don’t change the fact that God has a purpose. Our experiences can make us afraid, angry, or bitter, but God invites us to be compassionate to ourselves and others. We have superpowers to sense others who’ve experienced trauma and can offer compassion to them.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
“I am finding that when I choose to let go of my … wishes and trust that my life is precious and meaningful in the eyes of God, something really new, something beyond my own expectations, begins to happen for me.” Henri Nouwen
FINDING PURPOSE: Rediscovering Meaning in a Life with Chronic Illness
Cindee Snider Re
What if purpose looks different than we believe?
In this 10-chapter study, author Cindee Snider Re invites participants to release cultural and traditional definitions of purpose and, instead, embrace God's timeless definition. Rooted in His Word, His definition is as refreshing as a gentle spring rain.
Finding Your God-Given Purpose
Discovering our God-given purpose begins with trust, with learning to be present with God in each moment — less about why we were created and what we are created to do than about who we are created to be.
How is God calling me?
When we seek God’s calling for our lives, our journey begins with love, with who we are in Christ, and who we were created to be.
What are Your Grace Gifts?
How has God gifted you? Where do you feel His gentle nudge to love one another? Do you feel the Spirit's tug to get involved? A grace gift is a beautiful Holy Spirit-inspired act of ministry that works harmoniously with the gifts given to the Body of Christ.
6. JOY
Even though the past is often a barrier between us and experiencing joy, being curious about joy and celebrating the good things can help our brains learn to notice them more often.
The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. (Psalm 118:24)
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” (Henri Nouwen)
Joy is a Gift
Joy is a perpetual gladness of the heart and a deep sense of gratitude in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in His creation, word, and works. Open your heart to these verses and quotes and discover that joy is a gift.
Celebrate Little Things Everyday
Celebrate each small win, every tiny triumph, and every unexpected victory, even if today your milestone is just a pebble.
Where do I find joy?
Joy is discovered in big events and in small, seemingly insignificant moments, in both mountain-top experiences, and smaller expressions we can easily overlook, like a kind word or a helping hand.
Living a Life of Celebration
Don’t let the little moments, small blessings, or tiny triumphs slip by unnoticed or unacknowledged. Instead, pause. Give thanks. Join the chorus of creation and share your joy.