The Process: A Journey of Hope, Healing, and Redemption
When Healing Begins in the Dark
Healing rarely begins on a mountaintop—it starts in the valley. It often begins in a place of exhaustion, heartbreak, or even despair. For many, it's the moment when everything else has been tried, and nothing has brought relief. It’s when survival has become too heavy and silence too loud. In the chapter “The Process” from Just Before Dawn, we are invited into stories that reflect this raw and painful beginning. These are stories of individuals who chose to turn toward healing not because it was easy—but because they could no longer bear the weight of unhealed wounds.
The truth is that healing often starts in darkness, where the way forward is unclear and the pain feels like it might never end. But even in those first quiet, desperate steps, something sacred happens. A shift begins. Not all at once, and not always visibly—but something real.
This chapter reminds us that healing doesn’t come from willpower alone. It begins when we respond to the invitation to hope again—to believe that change is possible and that brokenness does not have the final word. Whether whispered in prayer, journaled through tears, or spoken out loud for the first time, that moment of surrender marks the start of something powerful.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” – Proverbs 13:12
What Is “The Process”?
The chapter offers a thoughtful look at what it means to enter a healing process. It emphasizes that healing isn’t linear and looks different for everyone. Rather than following a fixed formula, the process is about progress—taking small, intentional steps toward wholeness. This may include facing painful memories, working through anger or grief, or learning how to trust and connect again after a season of deep hurt.
The idea of a process reminds us that healing doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, support, and patience. Growth often begins in the quiet, hidden moments—when someone chooses to keep going even when it’s difficult. Each step matters, even when it feels slow.
The chapter also points out how much meaning can be found in each part of the journey. Healing is not just about reaching a destination—it’s about what is formed in us along the way. With care and intention, the process can lead to greater strength, understanding, and peace.
The Jewel Box: A Story of Coping
One of the most moving pieces in the chapter is the allegory of the Jewel Box. The narrator opens a dusty chest filled with symbolic jewelry—each item representing a survival strategy developed in response to trauma. These pieces aren’t beautiful treasures; they are worn, mismatched, and heavy. A necklace for inadequacy, rings of defensiveness, earrings that distract from pain—all are symbolic of deep emotional wounds and the creative ways the mind learns to protect itself.
This powerful allegory helps us understand that coping mechanisms—while once necessary—can become burdens when healing begins. Perfectionism, self-sufficiency, emotional detachment, and the need to please others are not signs of personal failure; they are evidence of what someone did to survive when survival was the only goal.
But there comes a time when those same patterns, though once protective, begin to limit growth. Healing invites individuals to examine what they’ve been carrying and gently question: Is this still helping me? Does this still reflect who I am or who I want to become?
The beauty of this story lies in the invitation. There is no demand to discard these parts in haste. Instead, there is an open-handed offer to lay down the old and pick up something new—truth, identity, peace. Coping may have been necessary, but healing is now possible.
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.” – Isaiah 43:1
When the Past Feels Too Much
The chapter doesn’t shy away from hard truths. For many survivors, especially those who endured severe trauma in childhood, the mind created ways to survive that included dissociation. This is not a sign of weakness—it is evidence of resilience. Even dissociation, though often misunderstood, can be a critical tool for survival when trauma overwhelms the mind and body.
Dissociation can sometimes look like memory gaps, emotional numbness, or may even feel like a completely different person during times of stress. For some, these coping mechanisms were formed at such a young age that they became part of how the person navigates the world. The chapter offers compassionate insight into this reality, affirming that such responses developed as a means of protection—not punishment. They were the mind and soul’s way of surviving what should never have been endured.
The Process emphasizes that while these mechanisms may have once been necessary, healing invites survivors to gently dismantle them in safe, supported environments. It is not about erasing the past, but about understanding it—bringing truth to the surface in a way that leads to peace. This can be a frightening journey, especially when memories begin to return or when buried emotions rise unexpectedly. But the invitation remains: to trust that healing is possible.
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." – Psalm 147:3
Healing is possible—regardless of how complicated, painful, or overwhelming the past may be. Even in the most fragmented places, restoration can take root. The journey doesn't require perfection; it requires honesty, support, and a willingness to keep moving forward. Change begins not with certainty, but with the quiet decision to believe that a better future is possible.
From Coal to Diamond: God Redeems Under Pressure
Another notable image in the chapter is that of the diamond—formed under intense pressure. The author of ‘Just Before Dawn’ shares how God used this metaphor to speak truth into her heart: the very pressure she begged Him to remove was part of what would shape her into something beautiful.
Like a diamond, we are cut, refined, and shaped to reflect His light. Not despite our pain, but because God redeems it. And just as the diamond must remain under pressure for transformation to occur, so too must we remain in the process, trusting that God is not only present in our suffering, but also purposeful. Nothing is wasted. The weight of trials, the ache of surrender, the discomfort of growth—each is a tool in the hands of the Master Jeweler, who knows exactly how to form something of eternal worth.
The longer the process, the rarer the gem. And in the end, what once felt like breaking will end up becoming the very thing that shines with the brilliance of God's glory.
“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure... But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” – 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
A Safe Place for Healing
The chapter underscores the vital role that compassionate, faith-based support can play in the healing journey. Christian therapy offers a space where individuals can explore deep wounds in an environment rooted in grace, truth, and hope. It’s a place where spiritual and emotional restoration meet—where Scripture is not just spoken but lived out in the form of patience, kindness, and gentle guidance.
Survivors are not rushed through their healing but invited to move at the pace of trust. The presence of Christ becomes a source of refuge, and over time, the pain that once defined the story begins to transform. Scars become evidence—not of defeat, but of survival and redemption.
“The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” – Proverbs 4:18
A Closing Word
To anyone walking through the process of healing today—take heart. The road may feel uncertain, and the weight may sometime feel like too much, but know that are not alone. God is at work even when you aren’t able to see it. He walks beside you in the shadows and carries you when you are no longer able to take a step.
Choosing to continue—even in small ways—is an important part of the healing journey. Hope doesn't always feel strong or visible; often, it's simply the willingness to believe that healing is still possible. Even in the most difficult moments, God is at work, bringing restoration from what has been broken.
You don’t have to have it all together. You don’t need to see the whole path. Just focus on taking the next small step. Trust that the light is coming—and that it will soon all be worth the wait.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
