Healing and Hope After Abuse
Abuse—whether physical, emotional, or psychological—can leave deep and lasting wounds that affect every part of a person’s life. From the visible scars of physical harm to the hidden pain of manipulation, control, and fear, the impact of domestic abuse and violence is complex and often overwhelming. Many who experience abuse wrestle with isolation, confusion, and the difficult question of how to move forward.
In this Healing and Hope After Abuse Pathway, you’ll hear stories, insights, and guidance that shed light on the many forms abuse can take, while offering support for those navigating its effects. This pathway creates space to better understand unhealthy dynamics, recognize the signs of abuse, and explore steps toward safety, healing, and restoration. While the journey may feel heavy and uncertain, this curated pathway is designed to remind you that hope, help, and healing are possible—and that you are not alone as you take steps toward freedom and wholeness.
Podcast Episodes:
How do you break free from an abusive cycle when it feels like there’s nowhere else to turn? How can God take the pain of the past and transform it into purpose as you rebuild your life after trauma?
For former public official, TV show host, and speaker Carolene Mays, imagining the life and leadership she would one day have seemed impossible while trapped in an abusive marriage. Escaping that relationship wasn’t easy—but on the other side, God took her pain and transformed it into a story of resilience and influence. Today, Carolene has served in politics, built successful businesses, hosted a television show, and mentored countless women and minority leaders to thrive. Throughout it all, she shares the struggles she endured and how God used every hardship to shape her path—truly showing that He wastes nothing.
In this episode, Davey and Carolene explore how to overcome the trauma of abuse, why noticing who needs encouragement matters, and how leadership in any context is ultimately an overflow of what God is doing within us.
If you’ve ever wondered how God might be connecting your past to the work He has for you now, this conversation will inspire you as you see how God takes our pain and uses it to transform us into leaders who uplift and empower others with purpose.
How do we make sense of the pain others have caused us in light of the choices we’ve made? What do we do when we find ourselves somewhere we never intended to be?
Christian recording artist Nicole C. Mullen opens up about the pain she endured in an abusive marriage. As she reflected on her journey, she came to understand that while she was never responsible for the abuse or betrayal she suffered, some of her own decisions contributed to the painful paths she walked in her life. Rather than allowing that realization to trap her in shame or despair, Nicole discovered a deeper truth: God offers fresh mercy and the power to choose what is right, no matter our past. She shares these lessons in her book, It’s Never Wrong to Do the Right Thing: Courageous Stories to Inspire Godly Decisions.
In this hope-filled conversation, Davey and Nicole talk about the reality that healing is a process, the lasting impact our choices can have on our lives and the powerful role other people’s stories play in helping us navigate our own.
If you’ve ever felt like your life has drifted too far off course or that your decisions have taken you somewhere you can’t return from, this episode is a reminder: it’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.
Warning: This episode discusses domestic violence and may not be suitable for all audiences.
What do you do when your life turns into a nightmare? How do you find healing from the deepest hurts imaginable?
As a therapist, Kimberly Haar had spent years walking others through darkness and difficulty. But nothing could have prepared her for her own journey through trauma. Years after an amicable divorce, Kimberly was violently assaulted by her ex-husband. In a harrowing turn of events, he kidnapped her and shot her then-boyfriend—now husband—ten times. While both Kimberly and her husband survived and recovered physically, their emotional healing would take years—and a deep dependence on Jesus.
Kimberly shares her powerful story in her book Healing from Life's Deepest Hurts: Reclaiming Your Life After Grief, Loss, or Trauma, offering hope and tools for others navigating their own paths of recovery.
In this episode, Davey sits down with Kimberly to talk about facing fear after trauma, the vital role therapy can play in healing, and how to honor the pain you've experienced without staying trapped in a victim identity.
If you or someone you know has faced the unimaginable, this conversation will be a reminder that even after navigating the deepest hurts—with God—you can reclaim your life.
What do we do with the secrets that keep us hidden in shame and despair? How do we tell our story in such a way that we can experience the true freedom that God has for us?
For author, entrepreneur, and founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Anne Beiler, the pain that came after losing a child in a tragic accident and the abuse she experienced at the hands of someone who should have helped her in her suffering, left her despairing and empty. It was only when she brought her secrets out of the dark and into the light that she was set free from the bondage of shame and pain that were set on destroying her. She shares her journey in her latest book, “The Secret Lies Within: An Inside Out Look at Overcoming Trauma and Finding Purpose in the Pain”.
In this tender conversation, Aubrey sits with Anne to talk about how the Holy Spirit can help us in our suffering, the power that is found in sharing our painful secrets, and how to let go of the shame that grips us.
If you've ever found yourself drowning in the shame of a secret from your past, this episode will encourage you to find a safe person to share your pain with and experience the freedom of being known and bringing the darkness into the light.
Warning: This episode discusses loss by suicide and may not be suitable for all listeners.
What do we do when it comes to understanding God's role in the events of our lives? How do we interpret the pain we endure, the evil that exists in the world and God's sovereignty in it all?
For author and professor of Old Testament Ingrid Faro, it was her own personal experience of pain and evil that led her to dig deeply into scripture in order to better understand how God works in the midst of suffering. Having experienced domestic abuse and divorce, a remarriage than ended when her husband died by suicide, and so much more, Ingrid began to ask questions when it came to pain and suffering and evil in our experience as humans. It was through her own story and scholarly study that she wrote Demystifying Evil: A Biblical and Personal Exploration, in which she examines the impact of evil and how to undo its power in our lives.
In this episode, Aubrey and Ingrid talk about how our stories can lead us to our life's work, the power of lament and what to do in the face of evil.
If you've ever struggled to make sense of the things that have been done to you, this conversation is a reminder that God can handle all our anger and questions, doubts and fears, and invites us to be honest with the pain that we are experiencing.
What do you do when your past keeps showing up in your present? How do you address the pain from childhood as it presents itself in your adult life?
For Dr. Mark McNear, a childhood of every kind of abuse and trauma left him completely broken. From sexual abuse as a small boy and the harsh emotional abuse of his father to several traumatic events of violence and being hit by a drunk driver, Mark's entire life was marked by extreme pain. The wounds o f his past begin to manifest in his adult life through addiction, anxiety and depression. As a therapist, Mark had helped walk others through their pain and yet he needed to receive the same care he so often gave away. It was through the gentle compassion of his wife and others and the grace of God that Mark began the difficult journey towards healing. Mark would go on to share his personal journey to help others in theirs in his book, Finding My Words, A Ruthless Commitment To Healing Gently After Trauma.
In this vulnerable conversation, Eric and Mark discuss how to love people well in the midst of their addiction, finding hope in the process of healing, and seeing God's grace move when you are struggling with the grips of shame.
If healing has been a difficult journey and one that feels incomplete, this episode will show you that while you may not be instantaneously "fixed" this side of heaven, you can experience the richness of God's love and mercy in every new day through His gentle process of tending to your wounds.
Have you ever read the headlines of what is happening to Christians across the globe and felt a sense of helplessness? How do we step into the stories of suffering from those who are so far away?
Lily Meschi has a unique story. As an Iranian woman, she experienced the impact of a culture that didn't value her as a woman. When she was just 18 years old, she entered into an arranged marriage and nothing could have prepared her for what was to come. It was after a long season of experiencing abuse and toxicity in her marriage that Lily first heard the gospel. That moment forever changed her life as she was able to get away from the abuse and experience true freedom and redemption through Christ. Since then, she has seen God turn her pain into purpose as she has sought to share the gospel with others from her home country through the ministry she works for called Iran Alive. Not only has Lily seen redemption in her own story, but in countless others who were set free from an oppressive culture and who now walk in the freedom of a life in Jesus.
In this insightful conversation, Davey talks with Lily about how we tend to overcomplicate sharing the gospel, the power of redemption that comes when we serve in communities that were the source of our pain, and how to step into the suffering of those across the globe.
Your story and culture may look completely different from Lily's, but seeing how God can redeem the pain we encounter will serve to remind you that nothing is wasted.
WARNING: This episode contains conversations about suicide and suicide ideation and may not be suitable for all listeners/viewers.
How do you help a child in your life walk through an unimaginable trauma? How can you begin to navigate their emotions as well as your own when life turns upside down?
For Jessye and Ryan Wilden figuring out how to walk through their own pain of losing Ryan's sister, Rena, in a homicide/suicide that took her life and the life of her husband, Danny, has been difficult enough. Taking in their niece and nephew and navigating their grief and loss in losing both their parents has required wisdom and discernment from God for a circumstance that doesn't have a manual. Add to it the collective grief that people felt after losing two beloved members of their community, it could feel impossible to ever get out from under the depths of suffering. And yet, Jessye and Ryan found a way through as they relied on the Lord each step of the way. In her book, We Wrote Your Name In Color, Jessye shares the messy process of healing, redemption, and grace found in their story.
Davey sits down with Jessye and Ryan to talk about what you even do in the aftermath of the unimaginable, how to walk kids through their own pain and healing, and the value of having a community in the midst of tragedy.
You may never walk through something as painful as the Wilden's have, but the way they've seen God in the middle of their heartbreak will encourage you as you navigate your own valley.
What do we do with the messages that imprint themselves on our souls from our earliest memories? How do we overcome the most difficult parts of our story when our circumstances seemingly want to make us a statistic?
For author, speaker and advocate Tori Hope Petersen, growing up in an abusive home and entering the foster care system at a young age made her start to believe that her life didn't matter. But somehow in the midst of the darkest moments, God met her and showed her His unfailing love in the face of people's failures to love and care for her and that her life had a greater purpose. Since that season, Tori has written about her experience through the system in her book, Fostered: One Woman’s Powerful Story of Finding Faith and Family through Foster Care and has become an advocate for others. She is also now a mom, undoing the brokenness from her family of origin and creating a beautiful tapestry called family through biological, adoption and foster parenting.
In this important conversation, Aubrey sits with Tori to discuss the questions that can come when you're wrestling through a life riddled with pain, the value of community in healing from our trauma, and how the Church can become the foundation for care and love for those in the foster care system.
Whether or not your life has been touched by foster care, this episode will remind you that no matter the messages you received as a child, God's message for you is clear: you are dearly loved and none of your pain is ever wasted.
What do you do when you realize the things you've been taught don't quite match up with God's Word? How do you navigate when what you believed to be true of the body of Christ doesn't hold up when you need care and protection?
For Carlie Tice Cleveland, experiencing an abusive relationship was painful enough yet more hurt was heaped upon her when the response of Christian leaders was shaming and blaming. It was through that difficult season that Carlie began to rightfully question some of the lessons she had learned through the years about purity.
Her questions led her to untangle some prescriptive religious rules that ignored the heart of God's purpose in pursuing purity. In this episode, Carlie and Davey talk about the heart of the matter when it comes to sexual ethics, warning signs in abusive relationships and the importance of deconstructing ideas that don't align with scripture.
This conversation is so important for those who know or love young people who may be wrestling with what purity truly means.
Kait Warman is one of the preeminent voices on Christian dating, but that role hasn’t come easy. Kait’s wisdom on the topic is borne out of a long story of abuse, unhealthy relationships, and identity crises.
Kait spent years seeking validation from men in all the wrong ways, but she never could quite find what she was looking for. That is, until she leaned into God and let him teach her who she was in Christ.
To continue our Singleness Series, Kait sits down with Davey to share some of her story and the wisdom she’s learned from it for anyone whether they’re single, dating, married, or anywhere in between.
If you had told the Christopher Yuan of years ago what his life would look like today, he probably wouldn’t believe you. As a promiscuous gay man who made his living selling drugs, Christopher’s life didn’t look anything like it does now. But an arrest, a prison sentence, and an HIV diagnosis turned out to be the things that would change Christopher’s life forever. Now, Christopher spends his days sharing the message of the gospel. To kick off our series on singleness, Christopher sits down with Davey to share some of his powerful story and how he’s learned to find his identity solely in Christ.
Where is God in our worst moments? For those of us who have experienced some event that caused immense pain, it can be nearly impossible to see how God was present in that moment. After all, if he was there, wouldn’t he have saved us? Kurt Willems wrestled with this question as he spent his life struggling to heal from the abuse he experienced as a child. Now, Kurt spends his life teaching others the things he learned in his own healing journey and helping people to answer that question in their own stories. Kurt sits down with Davey to share some of his story and the things he’s learned about the presence of God in the midst of our sufferings.
Teresa Glantz first experienced trauma at far too young an age. Born into a dysfunctional family, she spent most of her childhood living under the roof of an abusive father. Growing up fearing for her safety and even her life, Teresa walked through incredible loss and tragedy at a young age. Little did she know that years later, after she thought she had healed from her past trauma, a shocking discovery about her family would send her spiraling all over again. Through it all, Teresa met God in her pain and learned what true healing really looks like. Teresa sits down with Davey to share her story and how she’s helping other people who’ve walked down similar paths to her own.
For those who have experienced any kind of abuse, it can be hard to find a way to move forward in life. There’s this trauma that’s too big to process, and it’s easy to get stuck in it. Georgia Shaffer has dedicated her life to helping people in these exact situations, but the ability to help others didn’t come easy. After walking though a cancer diagnosis with almost no chance to survive and then watching her marriage and career fall apart, Georgia is no stranger to pain herself. But Georgia met God in the midst of her pain, and now she wants to help others do the same. To continue our series on surviving abuse, Georgia sits down with Davey to talk about how the pain she’s gone through has prepared her to help walk others through their own valleys.
Nona Jones had what looked on the outside like success. She got a job at a Fortune 100 company at only 23, and her professional life only seemed to go up and to the right from there. Married to a pastor and with a deep faith of her own, it seemed that Nona had the “perfect” Christian life. But under the surface, trauma that had gone unaddressed built up until it could no longer be ignored, and Nora found herself in a crisis. Was all her success really enough? In her newest book Success from the Inside Out, Nona talks about how to deal with your past to have real success in the present. Nona sits down with Davey to share her story and how she’s learned to overcome her past traumas and help others do the same.
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Pain to Purpose Coaching
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Have you found this Pathway helpful? Be sure to check out our other Pathways for more inspiring stories of hope in the face of tragedy, trauma and pain.
Let these Pathways be a roadmap for you on your healing journey.
Warning: This episode discusses pornography addiction and may not be suitable for all listeners.
How do we break the stronghold of addiction when it becomes deeply attached to our lives? What do we do when the pain of our past resurfaces through patterns of addiction?
Drew Boa didn’t fully realize how much pain he was carrying beneath the surface until his struggle with pornography began to threaten the relationships he valued most. As he started to uncover and process that pain, he recognized how often he had looked for healing and identity in places other than God.
It was through surrendering both his pain and identity to God that the grip of pornography on his life began to loosen. Over time, he experienced genuine freedom. His book, Outgrow Porn: Find Lasting Freedom Without Fighting an Exhausting Battle—A Man’s Guide to Healing, offers men a pathway toward that same kind of lasting transformation.
In this episode, Davey and Drew explore the deeper roots of sexual addiction, the vital role of compassion and self-awareness in the healing process, and why authentic community is so powerful in breaking cycles of addiction.
If you or someone you love has struggled to find freedom from pornography, this conversation offers hope—reminding us that lasting freedom begins by understanding our identity in Jesus.