I grew up and still live in a military town. I served in the US Navy. I respect and appreciate those who serve and their families who make incredible sacrifices for our freedom. My heart aches for those who return from war wounded. Many times the wounds are very obvious. Other times the wounds are not so apparent when you look at the soldier and their family. It’s the wounds we don’t see that cause the most damage. I’ve seen marriages and families in crises because of the unseen wounds of war. And in many of those cases the wounded turn to indulgence and excess to provide healing for their invisible pain. That type of healing is temporary and eventually the wounds reach a point of irreparable damage. The same holds true for wounds we received as children. Many of the hurts we endured during childhood create wounds that as adults we attempt to heal on our own with a myriad of remedies. We seek out various indulgences like food, shopping, alcohol, excessive exercising, or busyness to bring us relief from the aches of our wounds. These addictions bring temporary reprive from the pain but they also imprison us. The shame behind our addictions cause us to build walls. But the trouble with building walls around yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same walls that secure your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed. There is only one way to bring complete healing to hurts and wounds of this life and that is the love of Jesus Christ. Allow Him to bring healing to the deepest aches of your heart. Having to live with the pain for the rest of your life is not your only option.