Yesterday Tomorrow Today by Susan L

As I drove into town a startling thought struck me about the "Recess" poem. As I reflected on how it was written, it hit me that without PTSD, without experiencing the often difficult Traumatic Incident Reduction Therapy, the captured moments of the school yard wouldn't have existed. I have shared about flashbacks. PTSD nightmare moments that yank us in to memory. Sight, sound, touch, smell are pulled into the past. Most often it is unexpected, triggered by some small thing. TIR therapy builds on that by providing a safe place to willingly immerse the mind in our worst memories: the flashback events one piece at a time. This is a healing opportunity because we can explore the incident and seek truth. For me it is the chance to discover God's take on the event. And to find His presence in events where I believed I was all alone. It always amazes me that at the end of the sometime three hour sessions I can find comfort in the midst of awful. As I wrote the first draft of the poem, unknowingly these practiced skills came into play. Although this time it was most delightful and made me smile. My mind stood in the schoolyard and I looked, listened, smelled, touched. Echoed voices of the past filled my senses. My kitchen disappeared as I became seven or eight and picked imaginary gravel out of an imaginary scraped elbow. Lord, I thank You for this ability to travel where time has no meaning. I thank You for all I had to go through to receive it. You are awesome! "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1 Pet 4:10