Restoration! Sometimes the stories we hear as counselors crush us. And so we get to mourn with those who mourn. Sometimes they inspire us. It has been a joy to walk with Ana and her teenage son and to hear her say about the last year: “I have down the most healing of my entire Christian life.”
Now studying to become a trained biblical counselor, Ana came to Biblical Counseling Center in 2016 for help. This is her story in her words.
A Restoration Story
I thought that God hated me. I envisioned his dark eyes looking down on me and I could not trust him. So I came to BCC struggling with flashbacks to years of sexual abuse that started when I was 5 years old.
The pain of the abuse led me to drugs and gangs when I turned 12, which resulted in more years of pain and difficulty. I also had a son during my teenage years, and I was struggling to raise him.
When I was 18, someone shared Christ with me. My hurting heart began to soften. Still I thought to myself, “I’m broken and no one can ever fix me.” The PTSD and flashbacks made me wonder if it was possible to ever be whole or healthy. I reached out for help and came to BCC.
My counselor had me write my life story and helped me understand patterns of abuse, abusers, and victims of abuse. As I speak to young women about my story they resonate with it. I bring God into the conversation and assure them that God can heal their heart and life too.
God is renewing my mind, and he is helping me have hope that my PTSD will not control my life as I move forward and grow. I hope to help my church develop a biblical counseling ministry when I complete my training as a biblical counsleor.
Invest in BCC
Many of you are among our supporters, and BCC thanks you! Your investment has helped us minister to Ana and to thousands of hurting people in the United States and overseas. And your continued prayers have helped us restore our purpose as a Biblical Counseling Training Center.
2 Comments on “Restoration in a Changed Life”
Is there any help in arizona.
Yes. An option is Kathi Bishop in Gilbert, AZ. Here’s her website: https://www.biblicalcounselingaz.org/ She would know of other biblical counselors in the state. Best to you.