PTSD and John 3:16

By Chaplain Kathie
from web site http://www.namguardianangel.com/
As we enter into the Christmas season, while we begin our shopping for family and friends, it is too often forgotten what this time of year actually means. It's not about long lines at the mall or holiday parties. It's not about sending Christmas cards to people you don't think about the rest of the year. This is what it's all about.

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It's about love. Why is it that we can remember people we love outside of our own family during Christmas but we can't seem to think of them the rest of the year? Donations to charities go up this time of year. We dig into our pockets when we hear the bell of the Salvation Army ringer sitting by the red kettle, often too embarrassed to simply pass by. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we see the advertising in our local papers to donate to the paper's Christmas fund for the less fortunate. We think about the kids who have very little during the year and we want to make sure they have something for Christmas morning. Come New Year's Day, all that sense of compassion and random acts of kindness get replaced with our own needs and wants.


For some, it never goes away. In my case, hanging onto it was not a noble undertaking. As a matter of fact, it was selfish. Because we suffered so much during the years of our marriage with PTSD eating it alive, I grew more determined to not let "it" win. I'm stubborn. My father said it was the Scottish blood in my veins and my mother said it was the Greek nothing is impossible attitude. Having that combination must have made me unable to surrender. I will not surrender to PTSD. I'm going to fight it until my last breath. Not just for my family but fall all families. "It" wins if we forget, stay silent and ignore what needs to be done to defeat it. While love alone cannot conquer this enemy of all we hold sacred as humans, it must be fortified with it.

Picture PTSD as Satan's foot. When men and women come back from combat, they come back with the events they endured ingrained within them. Some change is very small ways but it all came home with them. For others, their character, all that made them who they were inside, is being infected by trauma. For the families and friends loving them becomes very difficult when they are no longer the same person. That's Satan's foot. It causes sense of self to get in the way when they act differently. If we take a leap of faith, understanding that there is a reason for the change, then we explore it until we can understand it. Understanding what PTSD is, why the person we thought we knew could seem more like a stranger, we kick Satan's foot out of the way and begin to help the veteran of combat heal.


Our eyes are as open as our hearts are willing to allow. Instead of thinking they want to hurt us, we see how much they are hurting inside of themselves. Instead of thinking they are selfish, we understand that deep inside of themselves, they regret the fact they came home when others died. Instead of allowing them to believe God judged them and condemned them by supporting that thought with the way we treat them, we can instead show love, compassion and forgiveness. They are able to see God's love thru our actions and thru the eyes of love.


Love is not supposed to be temporary or seasonal. It is not supposed to end when our feelings are hurt or we don't get what we want. It should not be surrendered as easily as we return the gifts to the store the day after Christmas because we thought we deserved better. It is a commitment that we take all too lightly.


Think of it this way. How much time do you spend looking thru sales flyers to make sure you get the best deal for what you want? How much time do you spend going thru the newspapers looking for coupons to save? Have you spent nearly as much time in learning about PTSD when you have someone serving in your own family? Are you afraid to do it? Do you think that you have enough to worry about and don't want to even think they could have PTSD? Well, I have news for you. If you think you've got enough to worry about and they do come home with PTSD, the troubles you think you have will be minor in compassion to what PTSD can do to your family if you don't know what it is or how to fight it.


My videos above will explain what it has taken me over 25 years of constant study and living with it took to learn. There are two I want you to watch about this for a start. PTSD Not God's Judgment and PTSD I Grieve. Begin to learn in this season of love to awaken a part of your heart that has been asleep.


Let's make this Christmas a time when we change our hearts and minds to understand that love is a gift to be cherished and invested in.