Last week, a 41-year-old woman entered a bank in Strand, without wearing a thread of clothes. While screaming, she wreaked havoc. It caused shocked customers to run out while employees stood around uncomfortably. A video of the incident spread like wildfire on social media. The comments from the public were cold. "The woman is crazy," wrote one. "I had such a good laugh now," wrote another. And yet another describes the event as "laughable and totally out of line".

 

In Sunday’s newspaper, the woman’s brother shared her side of the story. Four years ago, she was a successful entrepreneur. The woman had a successful laundry business, lent money at interest to the public and she also rented out rooms in her house for an extra monthly income. Every Sunday she was in church and it was she who "led her brother to the cross where he stopped drinking".

 

However something went wrong. The moneylenders did not pay their outstanding debt. Out of anger, the woman threw boiling water on one of them. This caused her to be sent to a psychiatric hospital for observation. During the time she was away, her estranged husband collected the outstanding money from money lenders and he disappeared with it. She lost everything. Shortly thereafter, her other brother and mother died. The shock and disappointment of all these things broke the woman emotionally and she started acting totally out of character.

 

One easily looks at other people's actions - in the workplace, in the community or even like this woman in the bank - and we give our opinion or harsh judgment. That, until you know the full story. Was the woman right? No. Do I have empathy for her? Yes. I think there are a lot of people around us who also walk around like that woman with a broken heart and they have no idea where to turn to for help. The danger with unprocessed trauma is that it will eventually lead to more harm to others, but also to you.

 

God wants to meet us and heal us in our most painful seasons. He knows what we need and He can take our pain away. In 1 Peter 5: 7 we read: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Also in Isaiah 41:10 God himself speaks and says: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

God heals and restores. Let's give Him a chance. God bless.

 

 

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