Ruth Stephens

When you hear the word trauma, what comes to mind? Perhaps a car accident, a natural disaster, or a serious physical injury. These are all experiences that can cause trauma. But trauma can also arise from experiences that are less visible, often misunderstood, or even dismissed by others. Failing an exam, experiencing a relationship breakdown, or losing your phone might be deeply distressing, but does that make it trauma? Where do we draw the line? Trauma is not simply about what happened to...

Do you ever feel that you must put a mask on in church? “I’m fine” “God is good” All this might be true but underneath there may be trauma, loss and deep pain. Questions and disappointment leading to doubt and insecurity or even a questioning of our faith. We need to talk about the ashes. The reality is that trauma happens and the statistics are high. Rejection, abuse, relationship breakdown, bereavement or other forms of adversity. Hard though it may be, we need to ask those difficult...

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on the statement “belong before believe.” I remember as a little girl I had the privilege of belonging to a Christian family. I also remember making a clear decision for myself to follow Jesus. Becoming a Christian is a matter of faith in the saving power of Jesus, but the way in which everyone reaches that point is different. For most people, it starts with lots of small steps towards faith. From my experience, it usually starts with a sense of finding...