• orphan
    Featured,  Orphan Heart

    How to Heal Your Orphan Heart

    Most definitions of orphan begin and end with the idea of having no parents.  But one can have two parents and still bear deep orphan wounds.  Emotional abandonment in the form of critical parents, neglectful parents, or just very immature ones can leave a child scrambling to supply his or her own needs. Life in an orphanage is one of deprivation and competition, but sometimes life in a family can echo the same familiar themes. So many Christians today live in a state of insecurity, fighting for what is theirs, and working hard to earn approval from God and from others. As most adoptive parents can tell you, just because…

  • anxiety attachment
    Anxiety Attachment,  Trust

    Healing from Attachment Anxiety and Chronic Mistrust

    Attachment anxiety often stems from a caregiver who finds the needs of a baby overwhelming. Contrary to popular wisdom, babies are extremely sensitive to their mothers’ responses. If Mama feels she can’t possibly fulfill the needs of her baby, the baby learns to become demanding. The more he or she cries, the more attention baby gets. But the emotional support is inadequate because just as mama is afraid she isn’t enough, the baby also internalizes that anxious message. The belief developed in infancy and carried on into adult relationships is I can’t get enough! Later, in adulthood, romantic relationships and friendships become unwitting repetitions of this unconscious sense of abandonment. …