TEACHINGS

The Child You Left Behind

Each of us has a center, a place of innocence within us, where our most vulnerable emotions are housed. It is no secret that as we grow into adults we also grow further and further away from this place. We lose touch with it. In fact, it is so far removed from some of us that we cannot acknowledge that it ever existed; but it does exist. We all have an inner child, a part of us that still yearns to be heard and validated; a part of us that never developed as our bodies, intellect, and awareness grew. This part of us, our child within, remained for the most part unchanged by our maturing counterparts. And even though our conscious minds want to pretend as if there is no inner child, please understand that neglecting the child within us may lead to serious inner conflict and unrest.

When we are wounded during our childhood years, all the details of those experiences become imprinted on our souls, and they do so at a time when we have neither the mental or emotional aptitude to process what is happening to us. It is our parent's job to protect us from such wounds, but often they are the culprits of them, because they, themselves, have wounds that have not healed. They have an inner child that has been forgotten. In the Christian vernacular, this cycle of dysfunction and neglect is referred to as a generational curse; the ills of one traumatic experience are passed from generation to generation, becoming more demonic and complex as the toxicity spreads from parent to child to grandchild, and so on.

As Christians, it is our responsibility to put a stop to this madness. We are to arm ourselves with the spiritual fortitude and mental resolve to recognize the curse within our own families. We are to stomp it out by commanding those menacing demons to the bottomless pit of hell by the authority of Jesus Christ! But you can't conquer what you refuse to confront! If you will not acknowledge that your own inner child has been neglected and is still hungering for the healing of Christ, then you certainly can't address the larger demonic influences that may be plaguing your family.

As far as your present, everyday life is concerned, your inner child may be calling quite a few shots. Because you see, when you find that a certain set of circumstances and situations continue to buffet your own success, then you have to begin to look deeply within. It is useless to blame other people, the system, or any other external factor for your failure to gain ground. The root of the problem is never an external one, but always about what is happening at the core of your being. So as you pull out your goggles and ready yourself for self-exploration, you must first be poised to love and forgive yourself for what you are about to discover. You must be committed to nurture the child within as the spirit continues to lead, guide, and direct you towards truth.

As you begin to peel back the layers, you must have the courage to be more honest than you have ever been before. This is such an important step, because when we become blatantly honest with ourselves, some of us will then catch a glimpse of the place inside us that still harnesses the deep pain of disappointment, fear, and loneliness. For the first time in our adult lives we'll remember that place inside us that causes us to explode with emotion every time we don't get our way. We'll recognize that we have forfeited being a good, sound, and authoritative parent, all because we are trying to recapture our youth by living vicariously through our own children. We'll see that we continue to use food and substances to comfort and coddle ourselves, because food and substances will not tell us "no". And we'll finally understand that we haven't really surrendered all to Jesus Christ...just the portion that was convenient.  

As an adult, you learn how to take care of yourself to a great degree, but you forget to nurture the child you left behind—the part of you that never grew—the part of you that no longer has a voice you can audibly hear.  Like your own child, or children you know, your wounded inner child wants to be heard. It wants to be validated, comforted, and healed; and only YOU can do that by allowing the powerful healing of Christ to come into those wounded places inside you in a very loving way.

Yes! Jesus Christ wants to give your inner child a hug. Mommy and daddy were not able to take care of him or her the way they should have. They were not able to wrap their arms around your entire being—body, soul, and spirit—and squeeze you to pieces. They were not able to bathe you with so much love that you were filled to overflowing, but Jesus can—if you'll let him.

You can't keep ignoring the fact that some part of you is causing you to misfire. Some part of you is self-sabotaging through your bad decisions and poor choices. It's because you are either subconsciously or unconsciously trying to recreate a situation where the voice of the child you left behind can be heard. His or her need for help is just that deep; it's just that real. Your conscious mind ignores the cry, but your heart recognizes the need for help, and the child in you will do just about anything to get this help. The inner child is still immature and lacks the logic of your adult mind, so it continues to re-create situations and circumstances that mirror the hurts and wounds it knows. This is the mechanism the child you left behind uses to say "Please help me! Please hear me! Please shine light my way, so that the love of God can come in and I can be healed and made whole."

You have tried to control this part of your spiritual development. Yes, you have. You have told Jesus Christ, "You can go where I say it is okay to go, Lord, but you can't touch that other deep part, because I don't want to deal with that stuff right now. That part of me is off limits. Because if I have to deal with the child in me, then I might have to ugly-cry as my healing comes. I might have to forgive somebody when not forgiving them has made me very comfortable with myself. If you go into those places with your love, I might have to let go of some things that make me feel secure in my flesh, so don't you touch those places right now."

This is why so many Christians feel they need alcohol and drugs, because they can't tolerate the pain of dealing with their wounds. They don't want to go through the surgery of having the Holy Spirit burst that wound wide open and expose it piece by piece, but my beloveds, that is exactly what needs to happen. You must confront the shame and remember that Christ is a master physician. He's got some anesthesia and medicine that will minister to you in a way that will make you feel brand new, and he won't miss a spot. He's precise. Right this very moment he knows exactly where and how to administer the healing you need. But you must be willing to go through the process. You have got to recognize that when you ask for a blessing, some inner spiritual work must be done.

No longer can Christians ignore the complexities of the psyche, because again, you cannot conquer what you refuse to confront. No longer can you afford to neglect the child you left behind,  because this child will not go away. Sisters and Brothers, you've got to learn to love that part of you that is still aching to be loved. And the only way to do it is through the love of God in Christ. Work it out!●