Without warning, years of painful memories flooded Avery’s* mind. For decades, she had suppressed the shame of sexual abuse, inflicted by a close relative. She had concealed the grief of losing her mother to cancer—and the stress of caring for her elderly father. And she had buried the pain of verbal and physical abuse, imposed by her ex-husband.

“I tried to forget these shameful things and never talk about them to anyone.”

In this moment, all the memories, all the discomfort and all the agony returned. “My past rushed up and took my breath away,” Avery says. “I tried to forget these shameful things and never talk about them to anyone.”

Weeks earlier, Avery had stumbled upon an advertisement for “Healing the Wounds of Trauma,” a Bible-based Trauma Healing workshop hosted by American Bible Society. She immediately registered for the course.

Avery learned to better understand her suffering. She learned to grieve. And through Scripture, she learned to forgive those who had caused her pain.

In the beginning of the workshop, which took place at her home church in northwestern Arkansas, Avery learned to better understand her suffering. She learned to grieve. And through Scripture, she learned to forgive those who had caused her pain.

Later in the course, when the conversation addressed survivors of abuse, the heartache of Avery’s past resurfaced. But through Healing the Wounds of Trauma, she uncovered the tools she needed to surrender her pain and suffering to God. At the conclusion of the workshop, a program facilitator encouraged Avery to continue seeking God by reading “Mending the Soul,” a Scripture-based book for victims of trauma.

Avery’s experience—the workshop, the book, the conversations, all rooted in the power of Scripture—made an eternal impact on her life.

Once trapped by shame and guilt, Avery now clings to the peace of Christ.

“I am no longer captive to the powerful emotion of shame,” Avery says. “[My deepest darkest secrets] have been brought to light.”

Once trapped by shame and guilt, Avery now clings to the peace of Christ. “It’s pure joy!” she says.

*Name has been changed