Hey there! I know it’s been a while since I posted a blog. Let me just say… It’s been a busy year since COVID started. Very busy, but here I am…back at it again. Hoping to inspire you to DO BOLD THINGS, REPURPOSE YOUR PAIN, AND TO PURSUE YOUR PURPOSE!
For those that might be new to this space, let me introduce myself. I’m Elsa Marley, and I go by Elsa Christie. I’m a speaker, life and mental health coach and a business consultant. All of these positions help me to live and walk out my calling which is to help people heal from their past trauma.
But it’s not just about healing. It is about being made whole. I believe that we aren’t just meant to survive our pain and our trauma, but that through healing we are meant to thrive, becoming beautifully broken.
You might say, “Elsa, how can trauma and pain be beautiful? The things that hurt me and the wounds that I have aren’t beautiful; they’re pretty ugly!”
I hear you. I use to think the same thing.
Listen, of course they are. There is lots of ugly evil in this world; we have an enemy whose sole purpose is to destroy us, and the things we experience can be horrifically painful.
But did you know that you’re not meant to stay there? Did you know that pain wasn’t meant to stunt your growth? It was meant to catapult you into your purpose. Your next. Your greatness.
Trust me, God knows exactly what you’ve been through. He also knows what you were made for, and that nothing you’ve gone through can change that beautiful plan and purpose He has for your life.
He saw your greatness before pain ever touched you. He also saw you rising up and conquering adversity before you knew what pain was. He saw you building up resilience from the time you were in your mother’s womb. He saw you be the chain breaker in your family before you even knew that you had chains.
I’ve been through horrible things in my life. I experienced terrible abuse at the hands of people who should have loved me and kept me safe; I lost my mother at a young age; I’ve been married and divorced; I’ve experienced trauma no one should ever go through. I was broken.
Like broken glass.The shards are sharp and painful. You can easily cut yourself or others with a piece of broken glass; it almost doesn’t matter which side you touch. All of them will cut you. That was me. Broken pieces of glass cutting everything that came across my path, waiting to be tossed out into the sea.
My friend Polly Hamp uses an analogy that I love. Sea glass is glass that has been shattered–and through its tumbling and refining in the sea, not only do the sharp edges get blunted and softened, but this sort of weapon we could wield to hurt others becomes a beautiful piece of art. What could have easily been mistaken for trash becomes a colorful and precious treasure. A mosaic. A masterpiece. The jewel was bought at a high price because it is worth its weight in gold.
Our healing from trauma and pain is like that sea glass. When we’re hurt and traumatized, we lash out and cut ourselves and others. But when we submit ourselves to healing, exposing our sharp edges to help from counselors, life coaches, pastoral counselors, and other healers, as well as deeply pursuing healing from God, we begin to feel those sharp edges become less damaging and dangerous. We start to offer the healed–and healing–parts of ourselves to those around us, they can see the imperfect, softening, safe and beautiful person we were created to be.
I’m on this journey myself. I have been that person, using her brokenness as a shield and a weapon, wounding others around me. There are places where I still do that; it’s a process for sure. But I’m committed to passionately pursuing this healing in myself. I’m committed to no longer hiding all the shattered, wounded places in myself, watching detached as I continue to wound others.
Join me on my journey. It’s safe here. We owe it to ourselves and those around us to pursue the beauty of our healing. Let’s go.
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