b'BODY OF CHRIST NEWS MAGAZINEHealing Generational TraumaBy Debbie Stafford, (Pastor)baby.My father was born on December 26, 1925.His Chair, Aurora Community of Faith (ACOF)mother was devastated when he was given up for Legislative Director, Aurora Mental Health & Recoveryadoption.A Nun felt so sorry for her that she slipped her the name of the adoptive parents.As my father grew up, it was clear that he struggled with feeling abandoned and rejected. A s the parents of six children, the foundation of shame, rejection and abandonment carried anundercurrentinourfamily.Itbecame silently powerful.That sense of shame was not readily identified.As adults, some of us in our family went through painful life experiences before wewereabletoconfrontthefeelingsofshame andrejection.JohnBradshawwrotethebook, Healing the Shame that Binds You.No matter what a persons generational trauma, a large number of us have been the walking-wounded. G uilt says that I have done something wrong. We can ask for forgiveness and find peace. Shamesays,Iamsomethingwrong.Itis difficulttoovercomeshame.Howdowe find peace when we may feel that we are flawed. We frequently do not see the damage in ourselves. Often,thosearoundusaremoreawareofour wounds.Matthew 11:28-30 says, Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. TheyymotherwasraisedontheRosebudIndianW hen we went to school, we were told to say M Reservation in South Dakota.She is part Oglalathat we were white.We tried to cover up LakotaSioux. Asa young woman,mymotherour Native blood.I think that my mother marriedafullbloodOglalaLakotaSiouxman.felt like we would overcome shame if we werecriticizedgreatly.Theirrelationshipwasdid not admit to being a part-blood.I am so thankful deemedinterracial.Theywereostracized,shamedthat Jesus shed his blood as a means of forgiveness of our sins.Matthew 26:28. and made to feel like they had committed a cardinal sinM any people try to cover up their shame with to have a full-blood marry a part-blood.The marriage ultimately came to an end when my mothers first babysubstance use, anger and destruction.Is died during childbirth.They were told that this was theirtheresomethingthatiskeepingyouin punishmentforhavinganinterracialmarriage.Theybondage?God is the healer of generational divorced in shame. M ymotherwentontomarrymyfather,thetrauma.Identifyingourneedforhealinginour families can help break the pattern of trauma for illegitimatechildofa15-year-oldgirlwhosefuture generations.It may take a great deal of work motherhaddied.Shewassenttoliveonato identify our need for inner healing.Finding inner farm.They used her as labor on the farm.Atpeace is worth the work.God is our Jehovah Rapha, age 15 she became pregnant by the farmers 17-year- our healer.Pray for God to bring healing into your old son.They sent her to a Catholic Convent to have herheart and to break generational trauma that binds you and your family. b13 BOCNEWS.COM'