Beth Tumbridge

Many of us carry assumptions about God that have been shaped by our own experiences of parents, carers, or authority figures. We may imagine God as distant, disappointed, hard to please, abusive, or uninterested in the details of our lives. This then has a profound impact on our faith, with passages like the one below sitting uncomfortably as we see it through our own experience. For many with attachment wounds, hearing of God as father will create a sense of deep discomfort. As churches, we...

When it comes to healing, we often strive to get back to the place we were in before the trauma happened. For those who have carried the weight of emotional or physical pain for years, the dream is often a "blank slate"—a version of ourselves where the struggle is simply gone. I often find myself reflecting on the hope that one day, our bodies and minds will be made completely new, and the weight of these 'scars' will finally lift. But then I remember Easter. After Jesus rose, He didn't...

Last week marked Children’s Mental Health Week, and the theme this year was "This is My Place." For a child to thrive, they need to feel a deep sense of belonging - a feeling that they are safe, valued, and seen in the spaces they inhabit every day. For many children, however, a sense of belonging is difficult to find. When a child has experienced trauma or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the world can feel like an unpredictable and threatening place. Instead of feeling they belong,...