Beginning Again Gently: Encouragement for Christian Women on a Trauma Healing Journey

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 (NKJV)

Dear Sister,

As a new year begins, there’s often a quiet pressure to start fresh, to move forward with confidence, and to leave what was hard behind. For some, that feels exciting. For others, especially those carrying trauma, it can feel heavy.

If you’re stepping into this year feeling tender, cautious, or unsure of what “beginning again” is supposed to look like, I want you to know this. There is nothing wrong with you. You are not behind. And you don’t need to rush into anything to prove that you’re healing.

Some beginnings are meant to be gentle.

Beginning Again Doesn’t Mean Pretending It Didn’t Hurt

For a long time, I struggled with the idea of healing as a destination. Not because I didn’t believe God heals, but because I didn’t understand something that would later change everything for me.

The moment I asked, it was finished. What Christ accomplished on the Cross was complete. Healing was not something I needed to chase, earn, or arrive at. The destination had already been secured there.

What I was actually dealing with was a long, open, unattended wound. The work had already been done, but the wound still needed care, attention, and time to heal properly.

That realization changed everything for me. It shifted my faith from trying to reach healing to trusting that what had already been secured was now being walked out.

That is why I say I am still on the journey.

Not because the work was incomplete, but because healing is the faithful, sometimes tender, walking out of what was already finished.

Gentleness Became Necessary, Not Optional

There was a season when I believed strength meant pushing through. I knew how to function, serve, and keep moving even while parts of my heart were still hurting. From the outside, I looked fine. Inside, I was exhausted.

What I’ve learned is this. Gentleness isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom.

When a wound has gone unattended for a long time, you don’t rush it. You don’t ignore it. You don’t demand it heal faster. You tend to it carefully.

God was never rushing me. I was rushing myself.

Psalm 147:3 stopped being a verse I quoted and became something I leaned on. God heals, and He binds. He doesn’t expose wounds to shame them. He covers them. He protects them. He stays with them.

If your healing feels slow or uneven right now, that doesn’t mean God is distant. It may simply mean He is being careful with you.

A New Beginning Can Still Honor the Past

Scripture tells us,

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing.”
Isaiah 43:18–19 (NKJV)

For a long time, I misunderstood this verse. I thought it meant I had to stop feeling what I felt or stop acknowledging what happened. But God was never asking me to erase my story.

The new thing He was doing wasn’t about forgetting. It was about restoring.

Beginning again didn’t mean denying the past. It meant allowing God to meet me there without pressure to hurry, explain, or minimize what had been carried for so long.

Your past does not disqualify you from a new season. It does not cancel what God is doing now. Often, it becomes the very place where His care is most evident.

You Are Allowed to Begin Where You Are

If you’re reading this and wondering if you belong here, let me say this clearly.

You do.

You belong if you’re just starting to name your pain.
You belong if you’ve been healing for years and still have tender places.
You belong if some days feel hopeful and others feel heavy.

Healing is not a race. It is not a performance. It is not proof of how strong your faith is.

Beginning again gently might look like resting more than striving.
It might look like setting one small boundary.
It might look like admitting you’re tired.
It might look like simply staying present today.

Every one of those matters.

My Moment of Reflection

As I stepped into this year, I found myself returning to what God had already shown me. Healing wasn’t something I was chasing. I trust that the work was done, or I wouldn’t be here writing this.

What I am still walking out in some areas is learning how to tend to what has already been healed. I’ve come to understand that debris can get into wounds, and even healed scars can become irritated. That does not mean healing didn’t happen. It simply means care is still needed.

Those moments no longer tell me I’m not healed or that God didn’t finish the work. They remind me to pause, pay attention, and allow Him to gently tend to places that were once unattended, knowing what was secured at the Cross has not changed.

A Gentle Word for This Season

Sister, if you are beginning this year with more questions than answers, you are not alone. If your healing feels quiet instead of dramatic, that is okay. If you are still on the journey, that does not mean you are failing.

It means you are living.

May you release the pressure to heal perfectly.
May you trust God’s pace with your heart.
May you feel safe enough to be honest.
May you remember that what was secured at the Cross is now being lovingly walked out.

You don’t have to rush.
You don’t have to walk alone.
You are still on the journey, and so am I.

With love,
Minister Jane Coy
Still on the Journey Ministries