We all know weather as a natural phenomenon that exists in both space and time.  Personally, I love a good, heart-thumping, air-clearing thunderstorm.  It's not so hard in most cases to survive bad weather.  If we can't outdistance a storm, we can usually find shelter and wait it out.
 
But what about the storms within?  The ones that defy space and time.  The storms we carry around with us seem to be set on constant repeat, forever promising a rainbow while never yielding anything but torrents, high winds and dark clouds.  
The weather inside us can make an outwardly sunny day feel like a disaster.
 
Why do we carry storms with us when they're so destructive?  Perhaps because we've never learned how to give them a rest.  Maybe the distraction of living out a storm keeps us from having to face difficult truths about our lives.  Maybe we've never found the voice that would allow us to call out for peace with others.  Maybe calming the inner storm would require us to forgive ourselves in ways we're not ready to face.

Kathleen Pooler has posted an interview about calming the storm of domestic abuse through faith on her blog.
I hope you will visit when you can.  I believe that treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is key to breaking the cycle of suffering that often follows down family generations in the wake of battle trauma, domestic violence, and child abuse/neglect.  

About a month after the interview above was first posted in 2/2013, I learned that several of my old friends from college had begun to find ways to offer help and support to those who are experiencing PTSD.  I looked forward to assisting in any small way possible.  Through contact with Rodney A. Ellis, Ph.D., I discovered that the rural medical clinic where he volunteers time for uninsured/underinsured individuals was in need of promotion.  Their limited budget would not accomodate a website, so I was blessed with the opportunity to donate one: http//www.baxtermedicalclinic.com/

 I admire all who have the courage to face the storms within to find the peace that passes understanding.  I hope to post more about the work of Baxter Medical Clinic and what is being discovered about rapidly effective treatments for PTSD soon. 

God calls us to live in peace, although it may require a longer journey for some of us than others.    

I gratefully acknowledge the conversations with Rodney A. Ellis, Ph.D., whose understanding of the process of healing traumatic memories led in turn to this series of PTSD awareness posts.
 

Memories can bring us so much comfort and beauty.  Our favorite memories grant us blessings and bliss.  But because they bring us  back to our most difficult moments and feelings, memories of trauma hurt. 

When we remember, we  find ourselves again mourning the loss of a brighter
world, the one we thought  we lived in just moments before the accident, or the
battle, or the rape, or the  disaster, or the domestic abuse.

During the trauma, we  find ourselves unequipped to cope with the realities that face us both in our  newly broken worlds and newly broken hearts.  

Afterwards, instead  of confronting memories of the experience to discover there a meaning that  resonates in our hearts and speaks to our lives, we tend to avoid thinking about  the event that caused us so much suffering, just as we avoid moving our bodies  in ways that cause pain after an injury.

 While we may  effectively block memories of trauma from our consciousness, they still lie like  scars on our souls, waiting to be wakened instantly in reponse to a painful  touch.  And because they remain unresolved, when those memories awaken,  we re-live not their resolution, but the destructive impact they have had on our  lives.  No wonder we often find ourselves living as long as we can in a world of  blunted feeling in an attempt to avoid the suffering.  Often, we need time to  grow in strength--or for our circumstances to
change--before we attempt the work  of healing directly.   

The past shows us a  more perfect world, one that has been shattered and lost:
The present shows us  ongoing repeated pain in response to our loss:  
The future shows us  little hope of healing unless we can learn to view our lives and these  memories through eyes that see beyond time altogether.

 Some of us find  ourselves telling our stories in order to bring these moments of darkness into the light;  whether to a therapist, through metaphor, in the form of writing either a journal or a  memoir.  All of these approaches deserve our respect.  All of those who find the  strength to confront traumatic memories are facing a
great challenge with great  courage.  Setting our traumatic events into a brighter view of the world, one far greater than  our worst memories reveal, is a critical step on the path leading to increasing faith, hope, and love.

  I gratefully acknowledge the conversations with Rodney A. Ellis, Ph.D., whose understanding of the process of healing traumatic memories led in turn to this series of PTSD Awareness posts.