AUGUST 5, 2026
DOUG’S INSPIRATIONAL TESTIMONY
OF TRAUMA HEALING
I have two points of pain in my life. First, I grew up in an urban area and I when I was eight, my dad, who was a police officer, died in the line of duty. My mother was not capable of parenting me and my siblings. I basically lived on a slave farm until I was rescued and placed in an orphanage. My second point of pain is when my wife of fifty-five years of marriage passed. When I was grieving over losing my wife, it triggered unresolved issues of childhood. I was feeling lonely and abandoned. During my childhood I felt I was not valued, and I was treated like an object or an animal…. Like a mule working on the slave farm. The hardest part was not being valued as a human being…being abused. The pain of my childhood turned me to Jesus as my Savior and my Living Lord rescued me.
I went through a Trauma Healing Group during December of 2022. A friend at church let me know about the Healing Group and that it was an opportunity to grow. The Healing Group turned out to be a resource I had been seeking for decades. It felt good and it was freeing to me to see that Biblical stories and mental health principles were being put together. That was the most significant aspect of the Healing Group for me. Mental health principles were integrated with Biblical Stories and illustrations of both the Old Testament and New Testament. In the Old Testament David was open about his heart wrenching feelings. This helped me to pour my heart out to God. In the New Testament Jesus turned his will over to Abba Father in the midst of his pain in the Garden of Gethsemane. This also was modeling for me how to transform my pain into personal growth and ministry. I was tempted to give up after my wife passed but I saw the example of David and I saw the example of Jesus and it caused me to not give up but to reach God’s new purposes for me It was also important that the atmosphere in the Healing Group was trustworthy. The group was facilitated in an open and participatory nature that triggered new vitality and ways of serving. The curriculum was creative, and the people were attentive and motivated.
The sessions and God’s Word made me feel healthier as a person, particularly in my identity and in my relationship with God. I no longer base my identity primarily on being a widower. The healing group helped me process and learn to be open in other settings. It helped me be more interactive with other people. In fact, some participants in our trauma healing group continued to meet and continue relationships after the Healing Group experience. It made me feel more confident and freer. It helped me feel more trusting. It helped me be more transparent and to talk about faith more openly. Otherwise, I would have grieved alone. If I had not gone through a healing group, I would have been more closed. I was not sure how much I wanted to live after my wife passed. The healing process helped me to be more proactive and energized rather than depressed. I now want to be a “FAT” Christian (more Faith, more Availability, and more Trust in God). If you are considering being in a Healing Group, do yourself a favor and take advantage of the opportunity. Whatever the size of the hurts and scars you have – small, large, or midsized – please take advantage of this opportunity to heal.
Doug Sprouse
Would you like to be equipped to be a trauma healing group facilitator? Go to this following link to learn about a Trauma Healing Initial Equipping Session starting on August 14, 2026.