To take it back.

February 13, 2010 forever changed my reality.

The phone call came like a breakless semi speeding out of control down a mountainside highway. There was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.

I knew the possibility existed, but only in the farthest reaches of my mind did I consider that it might actually come to pass.

The words penetrated to my core. Time stopped. It was not real. It could not be. “Wait… my father is dead?”

It was an evil, horrible day, and though the evil is not His doing, I will tell you now that day belongs to the Lord.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 ESV

Today, I’m reclaiming February 13.

I still grieve the loss, but today I honor the memory of my father by doing something that I’ve felt compelled to do for most of these years without him: help others deal with tragedy, loss, grief, and trauma.

I want to speak to lost, broken, hurting people who have suffered deeply through tragic loss and vehemently declare:

There. Is. Hope.

Why? One reason.

God is good.

That’s it. The evil you face is not from God. The good you receive – all of it is from Him.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
‭‭James‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Trauma usually takes something from us. My father’s suicide took my peace, my joy, my heart, my sense of stability, my desire for life, my identity as a son, and nearly my sanity. I’ve taken back every single one of those things and more in the years since.

And God has always been present to help, even from the very beginning of the journey. It’s His strength and His truth that has carried me.

So, what has trauma taken from you? What do you need to reclaim?

Don’t beat yourself up if you’re down – it may take years to reclaim what you lost, but you can dig deep and fight to take it back! Just consider the thought and start by offering it to the Lord – He is the one doing the restoring anyway.

Join the conversation below (or start one!).