Getting Past What You'll Never Get Over

It has been said, "Time heals all wounds." I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers with scar tissue, and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.

{Rose Kennedy}

There are some events in life that I will never get over. I still marvel that I walked through them. I can't believe that they actually happened. They cut deep, and I will never be the same. But I can move on from them. Get past them through forgiveness. Go forward because I have released the heaviness of the event into God's hands.

In John Westfall's book, Getting Past What You'll Never Get Over: Help for Dealing with Life's Hurts, there exists compassion and advice for anyone that is struggling with hurt. Maybe you are the one that hurts or maybe your hurt yourself by hurting another.  Whatever the case, Westfall offers hope and encouragement. There are chapters on fear, regret, guilt, anger, and bitterness. He intertwines stories {some of his own} with advice on how to move forward. My favorite part of the book is at the end, "Steps for the Journey: The ABC's of Self-Care".  This list literally goes through the alphabet and gives you ideas on how to move forward after something devastating has happened.  I love that many of the ideas are extremely practical! Many of them I have employed as I move towards healing.

If you are struggling with a "new normal" and feel like life will never be the same, I highly recommend this book!  I will leave you with a few quotes...

"Regrets are the bungee cords of our hearts."

"I believe that breakthroughs comes when we finally let go of wanting to change the past. A sense of closure comes when we finally allow ourselves to accept the reality that what was done is done, and nothing will bring back the past or undo the damage."

"Unleashed anger can leave a path of destruction that would make tornadoes jealous. Countless relationships have been damaged and destroyed by inappropriate expressions of anger."

"Renewal is going back to God's original dream for us."