Jewels from Judy: A Time To Proclaim Jubilee!
Judy A Bauman
A Time To Proclaim Jubilee!
God proclaimed 50 as the Biblical number of Jubilee. This is when liberty is proclaimed! (See Leviticus 25) Today I am writing because I want to share something personal with you.
The reason this is significant to me at this very moment, on this date 50 years ago, I suffered a great loss. My dad died. It was a very traumatic event because just before he collapsed, he had strictly punished me for not doing the evening dishes. I later learned that the type of hidden heart condition he suffered from often produces outbursts of anger. Unfortunately, that specific night, I bore the brunt of it. That being his last conscious act haunted me and I suffered from tremendous guilt. What I didn’t know for years is the ‘replaying’ of events is not an uncommon thing for someone who has suffered a trauma. This is what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is and how it interferes with a person’s life.
Surprisingly, I learned about PTSD while watching an episode of West Wing (Noel). A character in the show was having strange reactions and was told he had to sit with a psychologist to keep his job. In the show, the character was diagnosed with PTSD but argued that he had never been in the military, so he couldn’t have it. The doctor explained that it can happen to anyone suffering a trauma. What really hit me was when he said, “You know you are cured when you can remember the incident without reliving it.” Remembering an incident is one thing, seeing it and experiencing the emotions as if the event is happening at that moment is another. This is what was happening to me and I was unable to stop the memories from replaying in my mind. For years, I had episodes where I relived both the night my dad died and his funeral, so any healing I gained would be weakened when that memory would be relived. This is what had been occurring since that fateful night, and just knowing what I was dealing with made a huge difference.
God is so good because He healed me in stages. How the Holy Spirit explained it to me was that I would need multiple surgeries, but that when He was done, I wouldn’t even know where the wound had been. This was unimaginable to me, but I am here to tell you that there is no scar! What I am also here to tell you is that you do not have to suffer for years before God heals and makes you whole.
Perhaps you see yourself (or someone you love) in my story. The fact is, we don’t have to suffer alone. The MASTER SURGEON is on duty. Allow the Lord to show you the first step to freedom. His word is full of direction, counsel and healing. Reach out for prayer. Honestly, I had more issues than just my dad’s death that were fortifying the enemy’s stranglehold.
Praise God that the weapons of our warfare are not natural, but they are MIGHTY in the pulling down of strongholds. Studying the word, prayer, fasting, praise and worship, acts of kindness, acts of obedience, developing the fruit and gifts of the Spirit, as well as putting on the armor of God are all effective weapons! I hope this encourages you. Please let me know how I can pray for you if you cannot break free from the trauma you have suffered. When God’s healing is complete, there will be no scar.
In the Father’s love
Judy A Bauman
Another testimony on this subject can be found here:
https://www.jewelsfromjudy.com/jewels_from_judy_blog/view/2135/44_years_later)
~One thing God did on this date that I could have in no way planned, my second book was published! (I had sent it in at the end of November, but Jewels from the Harvest was published February 5, 2018!) I have a number of really sweet things the Lord has done for me on this date. Perhaps that will be for another post.
