He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
-Psalm 147:3, NIV
The other day I came across an article on RELEVANT Magazine’s website. It is entitled, “What Victims of Sexual Abuse Need to Hear from Christians.” The article online is an excerpt from counselor Dan Allender’s book entitled Healing the Wounded Heart: The Heartache of Sexual Abuse and the Hope of Transformation.
Allender’s article is worth a read (click here).
What struck me with this book excerpt about supporting sexual abuse victims is how applicable the advice is for survivors of adultery. This is not too shocking as Allender writes about the advice being for the abused and surviving adultery is surviving abuse–in my pastoral opinion.
My hope is more counselors and pastors approach adultery survivors in the way outlined by Allender in his article–i.e. with humility and the courage necessary to sit in the mess without trying to “fix” it. This article is a good step in that direction. I hope others connect the dots to support faithful spouses in this way as well.
I am both a sexual abuse and adultery victim and I treasure this book..it is key to the healing in both wounds.