When Hidden Wounds Reopen
- Tina Smith
- Mar 31
- 3 min read
๐๐ผ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐น ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐๐บ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป.
I have been a practicing licensed Christian therapist for over 25 years. I had the tools, the strategies, and the clinical insight. Yet what I underestimated is that there can always be another layer buried so deep that it remains hidden until the right set of circumstances exposes a wound you did not even know existed.
The reality is that we all have blind spots. Often, they are covered by busyness. Distracted by doing more for the Kingdom. Ensuring everyone is happy to the best of your ability. Carrying the deep desire for the Lord to say, โWell done, good and faithful servant.โ (Matthew 25:23)
Yet while you are running the race, the blind spots of your own wounds can remain a crack that the enemy patiently waits to widen over time. Scripture reminds us clearly, โBe alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.โ (1 Peter 5:8)
If it can happen to me, it can happen to you.
That may sound direct, but it is also honest.
If you are so focused on planning, building, leading, and running the race for the Kingdom that you are not slowing down long enough to allow others to speak into your life, to carry you, and to warn you about dangers you cannot see, then eventually something will give way.
Many leaders convince themselves that the past should stay in the past. Sometimes this belief comes from misunderstanding scripture about โforgetting what lies behind.โ Yet Paul wrote, โForgetting what lies behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal.โ (Philippians 3:13โ14)
Forgetting in this context was never about denying wounds or refusing to heal. It was about refusing to live trapped in them.
But when the backpack remains full of unspoken stories, unresolved pain, rejection, betrayal, and experiences we quietly carry forward, those weights eventually begin to surface in present circumstances.
Then one day you find yourself looking in the mirror, wondering, How did I get here?
Look around. Leaders are hurting. Some are broken. Some have fallen in ways no one expected.
What is the Church to do when we see this level of pain around us?
It begins with each of us being willing to look honestly at our own lives without assuming that the past is automatically resolved simply because time has passed.
I have come to believe that every leader must be willing to walk back in time in order to move forward in strength. Because eventually, what we refuse to look at will find its way into our current circumstances.
David prayed these words with courage:
โSearch me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.โ (Psalm 139:23โ24)
The Cost of Healing
Healing is progressive. But you cannot progress in what you refuse to face.
Ignoring the past or stepping over wounds will never bring resolution. Time alone does not heal what remains unspoken. Healing takes time when you allow the Lord to meet you in the places you would rather avoid.
Face the areas that need attention. Invite the Lord into the places you have buried. Allow trusted voices to walk with you through what you once carried alone.
Because when you heal, you rise and lead differently.
Your voice carries more grace.
Your leadership carries more humility.
Your presence creates space for others to be restored.
And when leaders begin to heal, the Church begins to heal.
Heal so the Church can heal.
Please do not try to walk this journey alone.
I am here as an International TheraCoach, bringing clinical insight, leadership understanding, and faith-centered guidance to help you move forward with greater clarity and healing.
I Invite You For Coaching
I invite you to connect for TheraCoaching. It's where I can help you work past wounds that effect your leadership. We'll start with a complimentary discovery call. Just click the link below to get started.
Tina Smith
Author | Mentor | Supervisor | Mediator-in-Training | International Coach | Director | Founder of Selah Treatment Center
Comments