Seven years ago, I was reading a book about dealing with past hurts. When the author talked about taking our wounds to the cross, I decided to construct a cross to put in our front yard, as well as buying purple material to drape on it. Then I set aside time on Good Friday to journal past hurts, asking the Holy Spirit to bring to my mind any wounds that were still affecting my life.

I was amazed at the memories the Lord brought back to me as I filled numerous pages with things that had happened in my past, sometimes weeping, sometimes experiencing anger and pain. At last, I sat quietly until my mind was at peace. Then I took small sticky notes and put a key word on each one that had meaning for me relating to each of the hurts I had journaled. After thumbtacking my journal sheets to the cross, I took the sticky notes and placed them on the cross one at a time. As I did this, I whispered these words from Isaiah 53:4-5, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…and by His stripes we are healed.”

After kneeling at the foot of the cross for some time, allowing the Lord to heal my wounds, I removed the journal sheets and carried them to our firepit. I lit the sheets and burned them, repeating again, “By His stripes, I am healed.” God did a work in my heart through this exercise. Any time one of these memories came to mind, I affirmed, “By His stripes, I am healed.”

I remember a teaching I heard years ago on the healing of memories. The speaker said, “People ask me, ‘Why is it necessary to have healing of memories? Can’t you just let well enough alone?’ I tell them, ‘If well enough is good enough, then no healing of memories is needed. But if things that happened in your past are still affecting you, then those memories need to be healed.’“

So I would say to you today, If well enough ISN’T good enough, if things that happened in your past are still affecting you, then I encourage you to do this exercise and let Jesus to heal your memories, or seek a Christian counselor who understands the process of prayer for healing of memories. There’s a reason why a day such as the one on which Jesus was crucified is called “Good.”

SURELY HE HAS BORNE OUR GRIEFS AND CARRIED OUR SORROWS: YET WE ESTEEMED HIM STRICKEN, SMITTEN BY GOD AND AFFLICTED. BUT HE WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITiES; THE CHASTISEMENT FOR OUR PEACE WAS UPON HIM, AND BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED. (ISAIAH 53:4-5)