The silver lining to trauma

Written by: Chereen

Seconds turn into minutes, minutes turn into hours, and hours turn into days. Suddenly, days turn into years and still you are not the same. Your smile has changed, because it comes from a different place in your heart. Your communication with people increases or decreases depending upon the genuineness that you feel. There are moments where you turn off emotionally because you find yourself in the past. Anxiety sometimes strikes you when you rush into the future. Being in the present is your priority, but getting there is a challenge. Although you know that by staying there, you are at peace.

Trauma does that to you. It changes you. Whether you learn from it or not, it transforms you. Trauma is a scar, but it can also be a wound. It can be a wound that you pick at, or one that is left raw and untouched. It can be a wound that you allow to heal, which then becomes a glistening scar. It is inevitable that trauma comes with the feeling of shock and pain, but it is the way that you deal with it which determines your emotional and spiritual outcome.

It is unfair and dishonest to you to say that you will be the same again. You deserve to know the truth about healing, that it comes with ups and downs and downs and ups. There are days where the trauma will feel so consuming, you could easily make the choice to never get back up. You could decide then and there to cut off all your ties and isolate your soul. You could do that, but given that you still have time, you find that you have to get back up. Even though it hurts, you know it is best for you to look past the pain and find the silver lining to trauma.

Trauma is meant to change you, but not for the worse. God never does anything to harm you, nor does He test you with more than you can handle. Your Creator looks out for you, even when you do not. You might feel like it is pouring rain on you, but that rain is meant to cleanse you. Just like that, trauma is there to help you evolve. From it, you shed your old skin and develop skin that is stronger and more resilient. Glistening scars and skin that is tough, the experiences that hurt you are meant to make you a more powerful version of yourself.