“Good Shepherd” by Bernhard Plockhorst (c. 1889), Source allposters.com, (PD-Art, PD-old-100)
As abuse survivors dealing with the scars of our experience, we tend to repeat certain mistakes and despise ourselves for that fact…as if will power alone could overcome trauma.
Often, we imagine that God despises us, as well. God does not, however, view our efforts with contempt. Far from it.
Author Jennifer Arimborgo who blogs at Feeding on Jesus https://feedingonjesus.com explores this topic in a post titled “God Is Not Sick of Your Struggle” (excerpted below).
Jennifer’s books are available at Amazon.com.
“…We sometimes live under the false impression that God is repelled by our imperfections and brokenness…Scripture teaches us that the opposite is true…His heart does not despise it when we lay bare our worst failures before Him. He is not disgusted with us. On the contrary, He gets stirred up with deep compassion and a desire to restore us to a place of wholeness.
After all, that’s what He gave His life for. Our gentle Shepherd submitted Himself to torture to redeem us. If He was willing to pour out his life unto death, what wouldn’t He do for us?…”
ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 