the impact of a person's childhood!

Jeremiah 30:17
"For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds, says the Lord."

Psalm 34:18
"The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

When we think of childhood, we think of innocence, sweetness, happiness, love, toys, and family. There can be differences in description depending on who is doing the describing.

When God created children, His intentions were that they be wrapped in the warmth and comfort of loving parents and nurtured in a healthy way. God never intended for children to lack love and security and protection.

Be that as it may, once sin came in, anything and I mean anything and everything became a threat against innocent children. 
Dysfunctional families have become a normal occurrence in our society, unfortunately. The Bible tells stories of various dysfunctional families and the hardships they had within the walls of their homes. God even gives us a glimpse into the far reaching consequences on individuals from such situations and their development as an adult. 

God never hides the ugly stuff from us. Look at King David and his dysfunctional family situation. His was a blended family that consisted of eight wives, and I believe only seven of them bore him children. There was rape, incest, jealousy, violent sibling rivalry and hatred among his offspring.

In Jacob's family there were children born from two blood sisters, Rachel and Leah, and concubines. Look at the hatred Joseph's brethren had for him. They got rid of him and lied to their father, Jacob, concerning his disappearance. 

Abraham and Sarah had issues involving their children. Ishmael, Hagar's son, made some negative remarks. He was having problems that his parents failed to pick up on. Sarah saw it and acted when he started mocking his younger brother. Eventually, the blended family had to be separated. 

I could go on and on. One's childhood greatly impacts their adult life for the better or for the worse. The bad choices parents make spill out onto their children. More than not, young people are subject to repeat the mistakes and failings of their parents. There are some exceptions to the rule.

I have done my research and have found that most children who grew up under stressful conditions or the lack of parental love, vowed to never do the same with their children, but sadly, they repeated the same acts and sometimes worse than what they experienced. They really meant it at the time that they are enduring such atrocities, but they didn't understand the affect their childhood would have on them and so, they were hard pressed to brake the cycle.

Since children are not responsible for their upbringing, God gives special promises to them. One of the things that is hard to understand is why God has allowed these negative things for some children. That was the million dollar question I had for God, being a child of abuse, neglect and abandonment. It took some time to see a little of why I was subjected to such things. The rest I will never know, in this life. With God's help, I was able to break the cycle by the time my children came along. It took great conscious effort and sticking to all that I hated when I was a helpless child.

God does give healing and help! But if it wasn't for His grace and mercy and great compassion on me, I don't know where I would have ended up, seriously. I lived from pillar to post, all God's doing as a way of escape and preservation. God is merciful and kind that way.

Parents have an awesome responsibility to their children, after all, children never ask to be born! We bring them here!

​If you are in need of healing and help from a childhood that has negatively impacted your life, know this, God knows all about it, He sees your situation. He knows why you are the way you are and His arms are opened wide to you. He has a heart full of love for you; just stop long enough and have a serious heart to heart with Him!