Psychologists tell us that when a trauma first happens, we need to mentally replay the event (s) and talk about it just so we can comprehend that it's real, it really did happen. But we can also become frozen in trauma, keep replaying and replaying a trauma until we've literally become frozen inside it and can't move forward in the reality of our present daily life. We're frozen in depression and grief. Frozen sometimes in guilt. Frozen in anger and bitterness and pain so that their towers of ice wall us off from experiencing joy in the present.
God doesn't want this for us. God tells us that the traumas of the past are over and done with. Yes, they can still affect us, and always will. But they don't have to overwhelm us and prevent our living life to the fullest in the present. We are meant to be growing and evolving beings. Change is always happening to us, and we can choose whether to move with it and grow - or stay frozen in our pasts.
How does God heal the broken-hearted? Psalm 147 gives us an answer. Here is a section of it:
He (God) sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
When our hearts are depressed, frozen in grief, pain, anxiety, or guilt, these are parts of the cycle of life, just as winter and snowfall are. These periods when our hearts are frozen are those periods of inner ice and snow which God knows will happen in every life: "He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes." During these frozen times, it seems as if every relationship we "touch" also freezes, unable to stay warm and viable. We feel like Snow Queen Elsa, unable to bring and to keep warmth in our lives, capable of "freezing" and alienating everyone around us. In the movie and play "Frozen," the Snow Queen Elsa's heart was so frozen that when she touched her sister Anna, Anna literally began to die. This is the real danger when our hearts remain frozen and depressed, self-absorbed, and trapped in the past.
But, in our life cycle, just as in earth's cycle, Spring and Summer come again, the sun melts the snow, and the coatings of ice over rivers and lakes also melt, so the waters can flow free, unimpeded, and joyful once more. In our own cycles of wintery depression and grief, God's Word - "I love you and I am faithful to you" - runs swiftly to us as Springtime, to heal us and free us.
God sends forth His loving, healing Word - "I want you to have life! I want you to have love! I want you to overflow with joy!" and these fiery words literally melt the frozen ice of depression, grief, anxiety, and bitterness inside us. The Wind of the Holy Spirit melts our hearts so that they become springs of Life-Giving Water, freely flowing to bubble up inside us and overflow in smiles, hugs, and kisses. We have "melted;" we are released from those freezing, toxic memories which can destroy us if we do not remember that they are over and no longer have the power to hurt us. Once our hearts have de-frosted, we can warm others with our love, just like Snow Queen Elsa, whose own sisterly love melted her heart so that her love overflowed into tears, mourning, and hugs to rescue her beloved sister Anna from freezing to death.
Today, when we feel trapped in thinking and obsessing over past suffering and trauma, when we begin to cry and mourn, our God's Words run swiftly to us to touch our hearts with warming love. Our God says to us, "What happened is done. Those traumas no longer can harm you, unless you allow them permanent entrance to your heart. The pain of the past is past. You are living in the present, in the Now. If you open your heart and allow My burning Love to touch you, fiery as Sunlight, you can unfreeze and let the past go. It no longer exists. Why torture yourself over what is already over and past? Your present is rich in beauty and meaningfulness, rich in love; you can see it if you can allow those inner towering walls of ice to melt into rivers of grace. If you allow yourself to be warmed and made new by My Springtime of grace, you can freely experience overflowing joy and love, the priceless Present of My Presence!"