Healing from abuse

Physical abuse is one of the saddest, most devastating things a child (or adult) can encounter. Much has been written about healing, and there are many wonderful counselors that help wounded children.

The booklet ‘The story that was changed’ was written to help restore a child's sense of worth and fathom God’s love. The story should preferably be read to the child after counseling has been done and some healing has taken place.

Below is the content of the booklet and the link to download it:

Jade lived a happy life. Her book was full of colorful memories, for many things that had already happened in her life. Although there had been some ups and downs, the book made her happy. It had become part of her. Jade was still young, and so her book had only a few chapters.

Her imagination ran wild as she thought about things that would make her story exciting and beautiful.

One day, as she sat with her book, it suddenly became dark. Something wasn’t right, and Jade was afraid. She tried to cover the book because it was the most precious thing she had.

But when the darkness had left, there was a terrible mess on the page she’d been working on.

For a few moments, Jade sat there wide-eyed, unable to move. Her heart pounded in her chest. She quickly closed the book.

Perhaps it had just been a bad dream. But as she opened the book again, there it was.

Frightened and confused, Jade wondered what had happened and why her page looked like that.

She blankly stared at her book and thought of tearing the page out. But then she realized that the pages were numbered; and having a missing page would make her book incomplete.

As her jumbled thoughts started to settle, she felt ashamed. She had always tried to keep her book clean and beautiful. Now there was a blotchy page.

So Jade decided to pretend that nothing had happened, that the page wasn’t there. No one needed to know about it. The next day she’d be able to start a new page, and life would carry on.

But that night, when her mom came to say good night, she asked Jade how her book was coming along, for she’d noticed that something wasn’t right.

Jade was afraid of showing her the page. What would she say? Yet, the bad feeling that filled her heart had to come out. Jade took a deep breath, and as she did, courage welled up inside her and she told her mom.

Jade’s mom hugged her and held her for a long time. With tears in her eyes, she told Jade how sorry she was for what had happened.

***

As time passed, Jade tried to forget about the page. But somehow the book often fell open on the blotchy page. Jade became angry, and she didn’t like the book anymore. She tried her best to keep to herself so she wouldn’t say hurtful things to her mom and to others. What made her angry was that it was her book, and no one had the right to ruin it!

Then one day, someone told Jade about God, and about how much He loves her book. He would help her finish her story, and it would have her name and God’s name on the cover. As she thought about her life and how her book might end, she imagined a special place for every book on God’s bookshelf in heaven.

Slowly, hope trickled into Jade's heart. As she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, she reached out to God; and at that moment, His joy filled her heart. From then on, she thought about her life differently because God had changed her. Together, they wrote her story. God would put beautiful thoughts in her mind, and Jade gave them life.

She knew that God was pleased with her story and she prayed that her book would help others see themselves in the beauty of His love.

***

He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
Psalm 147:3

Here is the link to download the booklet:

My Lifebook

To print:

2 sheets are required, printed back-to-back.
With a duplexing printer, choose the option 'Print on both sides of paper' (print double-sided).
For printers printing only on one side, first select to print page 1. Then turn the printed page over, place into the feed tray, and select to print page 2. Repeat, as above, for pages 3 and 4. (Note: printer configurations differ.)
Cut the 2 sheets in half to separate the top pages from the bottom ones. Sort the pages into the correct order; staple the booklet, and fold. Trim the edges for a neater look.