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Each week I’ll share with you “man to man” on a theme I’m qualified to talk about. For the next several weeks, I’m going to draw inspiration from my book From Broken Boy to Mended Man. Let’s dive in.

The Fixable Pain of Childhood Wounds

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

There are millions of us. We carry in us that “hard-to-put-into-words” leftover pain of childhood wounds. As a result of this unprocessed pain, we act out in ways that damage our relationships. We’re easily offended. Fragile. We lash out. We withdraw. We’re baffled by our behavior. Frankly, we’re not even sure what normal behavior looks like.

Here’s God’s promise and this week’s BIG IDEA:

“Your childhood wounds may describe you, but they don’t have to define you.”

We all want to silence the voices of the past, but the way forward can be shrouded in mystery. We look at our lives and can’t help wondering, Is this as good as it gets? We’re terrified we might repeat the cycle with our own spouses and children rather than break it.

What we really want—have always wanted—is for our parents to love us, believe in us, and be proud of us. We ache to be encouraged, respected, and valued. We yearn for their approval and affirmation—to be the gleam in their eyes. That’s what you and I need to thrive. The Bible describes a process for healing (and preventing) childhood wounds that has been constant and successful for thousands of years.

Stayed tuned. In the coming weeks, I’ll give you some of the practical help you’ve been looking for:

• The 4 building blocks of a healthy home
• How to unilaterally forgive your parents
• How to face the truth and get out of denial
• 7 generalized descriptions of negative parenting
• How to grieve what could and should have been
• The 9 characteristics of men with childhood wounds
• The joy of walking with a limp
• How to rebuild broken relationships (and what to do if you can’t)
• The keys to develop a positive plan to heal your childhood wounds and break free from any destructive cycles holding you back.

I hope you will join me for the journey!

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