This book is about African American soul care. It is a treatise on the themes that have created sustained places of pain and brokenness in the lives of many African Americans. It acknowledges the genesis of much of the pain is historical, systemic, and not of our own choosing. In reality, no one ever chooses to hurt, and for most African Americans, pain is not just about present day experiences as a matter of living, but must be viewed with deference to a history reflecting the many issues rooted in slavery. The shadows of pain looming over African American people are often minimized, played down and disregarded. It is as if it is expected that one s days are to be filled with dark clouds. In the effort to make the best of things most do pretty well, some of the time. But, then, there are those moments where something happens and we do not have it all together. We emerge from the shadows - from behind our masks long enough to feel our pain deeply. In those moments, we glance at what hurts us, most often striking out at others - hurting them, usually the ones we love most. Why, because we do not want to face our brokenness. We don t have the heart equipment on board to absorb it. We don't know what to do with it. So we lash out hoping to bury it again, praying that it will haunt us no more - but it does. In a matter of time, we will face it again and with each successive visit we become more embittered, more hostile, more determined to not hurt - but we do. This book is also about inner-healing as taught in the formational prayer model pioneered by Dr. Terry Wardle. Formational prayer is a ministry of the Holy Spirit, moving through a Christian caregiver, bringing the Healing Presence of Jesus Christ into the places of pain and brokenness within a wounded person. Formational Prayer offers life-changing pathways that help people dismantle destructive false beliefs, teaches steps for dealing with deep wounds, presents tools for addressing dysfunctional behaviors, provides a foundational understanding of trauma and the traumatized, and addresses spirituality and world view as each relates to helping the broken. Healing begins with the realization of the fundamental woundedness in human nature. In addressing the systemic issues of pain and brokenness within the African American community this book suggests, in the Nouwen tradition, that we are, for each other, wounded healers. Because of its emphasis on the individual's relationship to Christ and the dynamic of the Holy Spirit as the true healer, it is with this specific focus in mind that systemic, historical, and situational woundings that are so much a part of African American life are addressed. Emphasizing healing and wholeness to achieve your best life, It is the goal of this work to invite you into a journey of mining your places of pain and brokenness. It is an invitation to dig into the well that is so deep, and draw to the surface that which mars and hides your true self. That which keeps you from being free to really love and to be loved in the way that you want to be loved, authentically, truly as the gift that you are, must be discovered. Created by a God who loves you immeasurably, you are invited into this journey. It is a God encounter, where you will find answers too many of life's questions; rest for your weariness; and above all, healing for your soul.
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