How Do We Help People Who Were Abused

Trauma and shock as a child can effect the way you see the world and stunt emotional growth. I have met many people who have suffered through such things, all of my dogs were abused also. How do we help people to heal emotionally.

I know how I did it with my dogs. I provided them with quiet and calmness. My current dog was abused, when I first got him he was very anxious. Someone used to kick him in the rear is my guess, it was a man, I believe it was a bigger man. I believe this based on how he acted.

He is a very funny dog. He is a Chihuahua. He is completely fearless. We discovered something about him, he has changed. He is still fearless; but, now he seems to respond to others based on how I react to them. He is very perceptive. He waits to see how I respond and then responds in kind. Well not quite, he bards at anyone that makes me feel unsure or that I dislike.

When I first got him he would not come to me. He hid under furniture. I never pushed him to come out. I never chased him down, I let him decide how close and what the pace of our evolving relationship would be and I never hit him. When he is unruly, I will hold him gently in the air with his feet off the ground and he calms down. He knows he is not in control and that he will not be harmed. I don't have to do that much anymore, he is a smart dog.

At night he will lay next to my legs, it is cute, he burrows under the covers and lays against may legs. Unfortunately, he also likes to fart. That has gotten better; but, still occurs. I don't like meeting new people and neither does he. I guess we both have to work on that.

I consider pets to be pets. I call him my baby; but, like I would call any loved one my baby. I let him come and go, from my room, as he pleases. He goes out, investigates, eats, sees who is in the house and then comes scratching at my door. I let him back in. He knows he can scratch on the door and I will let him in.

In the morning I go to the restroom and then take my shower. He barks when I go into the restroom. He didn't always do that. When I leave the house in the morning he sits at the window and howls for an hour. I am glad that I could take a dog who was abused and have him howl at my window because I have left. I think I did a good job with him.

I wondered how we could help adults who had been abused. I think the answer is the same. We have to know security, safety, that we are cared about and will not be abused before we can learn to open up. Gentleness is the key.

Jesus' last miracle before being crucified

I previously posted on Jesus' first miracle, turning water into wine and thought it might be interesting to look at his last miracle before being crucified. His last miracle took place in a Garden, he was praying and a group came to arrest him. One of the apostles, it is believed to have been Peter, cut off the ear of one of the people. Jesus healed the mans ear.

Why did he bother healing the guy? The man was not at risk of dying. Prior to that, as far as I know, Jesus only healed believers. This man was not a believer. On one occasion a woman who was not Jewish asked Jesus to heal her daughter who was demon possessed, he told her to leave; but, she persisted and he relented and healed the daughter because of the woman's faith.

This healing was not requested by anyone. The man himself was arresting Jesus so we have reason to believe he was not a follower. So my first question is still, why did Jesus heal him? He did not heal everyone that he met and this man meant him harm. I believe there may be two reasons. The first was to show forgiveness. Most people read the story and see that reason; but, I think there is more to the story.

The second question is what happened next, not to Jesus, to the guy whose ear he healed with a simple touch? How did that change that man's night and life? We never hear about the guy again; but, how could he doubt who Jesus was after being healed? How did he feel knowing he was responsible for helping kill Jesus after having his ear restored?

Perhaps, like Paul, he became a follower and told the story to others who also came to believe. An eyewitness account.