Your past history and experiences are what molded you into the person you are today. If you struggle with emotional extremes: with your emotions in constant control, or with a constant suppression of your feelings, you can often find the roots of that struggle in your past. Many people enter therapy in order to explore and understand their past more clearly.

We have all been hurt. We live among imperfect people, people who hurt us both deliberately and unintentionally. For very deep hurts and pains, such as sexual abuse, traumatic experiences, or other other deep wounds, professional therapy is very effective. But often we can explore our pains on our own using journaling and sharing with one or two trusted friends. As we explore past and present pains, we can offer those wounds up to God, who promises to heal us.

Getting in touch with our hopes can bring vitality and joy into our lives, even if we aren’t currently pursuing those hopes. As we begin to allow ourselves to hope, we open ourselves up to God’s will.

God created each and every one of us for a specific purpose. Just as each part of the body has a function, each human on the earth as a function. Discovering your hopes and God’s dreams allows you to begin a partnership with God: discover what you have been gifted and talented to do and then do it!