Where is God when life around you is dark—when trauma has turned your life inside out? Healing from trauma is possible, even when pain runs deep and hope feels out of reach. But the journey from survival to wholeness often requires facing what has been buried and inviting God into the places that hurt most.
⚠️Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion about sexual assault and deep trauma.
Lisa Saruga is a licensed professional counselor who knows both the darkness of trauma and the hopelessness that can keep pain hidden beneath layers of fear. Thirty-five years after she was assaulted on her college campus, Lisa’s cold case was reopened—and with it, deep wounds she had carried for decades.
Healing from Trauma Is Possible
In her book, The Trauma Tree, Lisa explores the difficult journey of recovery and healing, including what it means to welcome God into our deepest pain. As she shares her story, Lisa invites us to consider a profound turnaround: discovering that even in our darkest moments, God has been with us all along.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Lisa’s journey from condemnation to grace
- How the amygdala responds to trauma and affects mental and physical well-being
- EMDR and its role as an evidence-based approach to trauma therapy
- Three questions Lisa asks clients to help identify personal “property lines”
- Developing “beautiful boundaries” as part of the healing process
- Why Lisa uses the term PTSI (Post-Traumatic Stress Injury) as a more hopeful way to frame healing
- Lisa’s RAW journaling technique
- Practical steps for moving from survival toward wholeness
Healing from trauma can feel like throwing a mountain into an ocean. The journey is intense, and healing doesn’t always come with the happy ending we hope for. But Lisa reminds us that even when life remains complicated, we are not alone—and we don’t have to stay stuck in survival mode.
Healing from Trauma: You Are Not Alone
Join us for an honest conversation about trauma, grace, boundaries, and the journey toward healing and wholeness.
💬 Healing from Trauma Quotes:
“There’s nothing wrong with your brain. We just need to figure out how to heal it.“
“There’s something powerful about seeing God write brightness into our future.”
“It is well with my soul because Jesus is there.”
Scripture Mentioned:
Psalm 27:13– I am confident that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Resources Mentioned:
🌿 Lisa’s book The Trauma Tree
🌿 Lisa’s grief resources
🌿 Boundaries by Townsend and Cloud
🌿 Newsletter sign-up for Lisa’s RAW Journaling Techniques + Trauma Tree Playlist
🎶 Lisa’s Go-to grace song, It Is Well by Hillsong Chapel
National Sexual Assault Hotline:
800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673)
online.rainn.org
En Español
Llame al 800-656-4673
Connect with Lisa Saruga:
Website: LisaSaruga.com
Instagram: @LisaSaruga
Facebook: @LisaSarugaAuthor
Related Episodes:
Ep. 86 How to Forgive When Forgiveness Feels Impossible with Johanna Henderson
Ep. 60 Healing from Life’s Deepest Hurts with Kim Haar
Ep. 36 Don’t Hoard Your Healing with Nancy Manassero
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👉🏼Living the Grace Life is the place where real grace meets real life. Host Jennifer Sakata helps us bridge the gap between grace as a theological idea and lived practice in everyday moments of faith, encouraging listeners to experience forgiveness, freedom, and trust that they then extend to others.