PTSD is real but not the last word

Up until last year I hadn't heard of PTSD. It stands for ‘Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’.

Anyone who has experienced an extreme situation in their life may experience some or all of the above symptoms. Those who have been involved in fighting in war torn countries will most certainly experience PTSD, having witnessed firsthand the devastating atrocities of killing and death.

Our own extreme suffering was when our young son Nathanael was run over by our own car. A split second freak accident that has changed the course of our lives forever. No one saw it coming and there was absolutely nothing we could do to change it. It happened and the overwhelming grief and trauma that enveloped us was and is like nothing we have ever experienced before.

During our time in the Specialist Neuro-Rehabilitation Centre, I was diagnosed with severe PTSD. This is not something I want to be labelled with but recognise I need help and support with. PTSD is something that I will experience from time to time as I process and work through the trauma.

With God’s help I can get better and in time, God willing, overcome even though our lives are forever changed. Those who return from war are never the same again.

Thank God that He is in the business of helping us in our brokenness and we can certainly testify to that.

My identity is not PTSD. My identity is as a child of God. No matter what situation any of us are going through in life - our identity in God does not change.

John 1:12-13 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.” NASB

It is easy to beat ourselves up when we are going through experiences of PTSD, but God wants to meet us in whatever we are experiencing. Just as we comfort our own children during difficult situations, how much more so does God with us.

Let me encourage you today - do not to allow the things that are pulling you down determine your status with God. Our situations in life will always be ongoing but God travels with us in them.

We are much more than what we experience. We are His and He is ours. God is able to keep us and with that I will finish with a wonderful promise from God’s word.

“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” Jude 1:24 NIV

Prayer - Father, thank You that we can look to You for our identity. Yes, we may be plagued at times by outside influences and faced with extreme situations but that will never change our status with You. In the midst of the battle may we know Your tender touch. Amen