Hidden Wounds: Cooper Ray

“The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” – Pope Emeritus Benedict 

In this afternoon’s session, Cooper Ray shared how his young son Eli’s over-attachment to his baby pool at home almost prevented him from the adventure of an amazing water park. Similarly, our connection to situations and things we’re comfortable and familiar with (or even things that are harmful to us) can prevent us from discovering God’s adventure for our lives.

The Enemy’s greatest purpose is to distort and distract us from God’s purpose for us: to love Him with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Sometimes these distractions and distortions can lead to serious sins that cause deep wounds, such as those from masturbation, pornography, or other addiction.

These addictions and sins, might make us tempted to hide in shame, embarrassment, or isolation. Instead, we should run to the One who longs to heal and restore us. “Don’t be afraid. There’s no mistake that this conference’s theme is fearless. So let’s be fearless as we approach Jesus in these situations,” Cooper Ray encouraged us.

Our Good Lord wants to help us realize His best for our lives even more than we want it for ourselves. If we take the smallest step toward Him, or if we’re not there yet but only have desire to do so, Jesus will meet us immediately with more love, healing, and grace than we can ever imagine. For example, Cooper pointed out the woman in Mark chapter 5 who suffered from a debilitating hemorrhage. She had the courage to turn to Jesus in faith to help her. Through Jesus’ merciful love, that’s exactly what happened!

How Do We Seek that Healing Today?

  1. Go to Jesus. Developing a strong prayer life and receiving the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation are powerful helps with any challenge in our lives, especially those involving serious sin, deep wounds, or addiction.
  2. Ask those you trust to walk with you. God gave us the people in our lives as gifts and for a reason. A trusted friend and adult of the same sex can help us realize that we are not alone, and they can serve as a living examples of God’s care in our life.
  3. Examine what’s going on and plan accordingly. In these situations, look at what’s going on objectively. Think about: what you’re doing, who you’re with, how you’re feeling, etc. Be aware of your triggers and make a plan to change things whenever anything or anyone is encouraging unhealthy actions or behaviors.
  4. Seek specialized help such as from a professional counselor.

Remember that the God of love and mercy is waiting for you in both your challenges and joys. He has an amazing adventure for your life “because you were made for greatness.”

Whenever you need encouragement in these areas, you can watch the live stream of Cooper’s talk here.

Written by Mary Lovee Varni