Memories and Relationships (Part 5)

How we interpret our memories gives us a self-identity. The way we 'edit' the events and emotions of our past has a great impact on how we understand ourselves in the present. And our self-understanding impacts the way we engage in all our relationships. Some memories are so powerful and or pervasive that they are critical in determining who we are.Take for instance the pastor who described a terrible story of repeatedly being raped by hired workers on his single mother’s farm from the ages of 5-8. The memory, while repressed for many years in his unconscious mind was so powerful that it determined how he functioned in relationships. The memory was so toxic and painful it determined how much permission he had to be self-expressive, and caused him in most relationships to stay hidden away. His interpretation of this painful memory was this: no one is safe, anyone even people you respect and trust can turn on you and really hurt you. He lived in fear. He is a wonderful man, but many thought he was aloof and distant. It took several years before he was able to start talking about his memories and tolerate the emotional pain that rose up within him with each memory.This is a powerful illustration of how imagination, re-presented images with an emotion affixed to them can shape a soul by the nature of the interpretation given to the event. God holds our story and his story in the suffering of his Son. It is the Gospel story of the cross that heals our deepest suffering.What suffering do you need to bring to Christ on the cross?