By Briana Bass, Christian Romance Author, Devotional Writer & Certified Professional Coach

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that trauma can be passed down from generation to generation. An absent parent several generations back may lead to emotionally distant parenting today. If left unresolved, the trauma you endure now could affect your children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren in the future.

In the church, we hear a lot about generational curses. An ancestor sinned and their descendants pay the price for it. Generational trauma works in a similar way. One traumatic event can have consequences for generations.

I want to be clear that trauma is not God’s wrath responding to sin. Trauma can occur when people hurt people or by experiencing a natural disaster. Our God is a loving God. He does not inflict trauma on His children.

But trauma does happen. It creates ripple effects. We cannot bury our heads in the sand or look the other way. Trauma must be acknowledged. Once trauma is recognized, we can begin the healing process.

The Sins of the Fathers

Generational trauma may be a modern term, but it’s been around since God created Adam and Eve. In fact, the Bible mentions generational trauma in the second and fourth books of the Old Testament:

“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” (Exodus 20:5 KJV).

“The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation” (Numbers 14:18 KJV).

Many Christians refer to this iniquity as a generational curse. What is trauma if not a curse? And like Biblical iniquity, trauma can affect future generations. If a traumatic event occurred in your family’s past, its repercussions may still be felt today. How it manifests can be different from the original event but the pain it caused continues to spread.

Please remember, the trauma you experienced is not punishment for your sins. And passing trauma from one generation to another is not an intentional act. But, like a curse, trauma can have long-lasting effects even beyond your lifetime.

Healing is Possible

I know I’ve used a lot of scary buzzwords. Generational trauma. Generational curse. Iniquity. They’re uncomfortable and our inclination is to run from them. But we owe it to ourselves and to future generations to face the discomfort. We can’t break the cycle if we pretend the cycle doesn’t exist.

The good news is that the curse can be broken! Trauma can be healed. Families can become whole again. Through a combination of secular therapy and Christian counseling we can move from cursed to blessed. Healing ourselves by ourselves is virtually impossible. But we aren’t alone. It’s important to include God as well as professionally trained, neutral third parties in our healing journeys.

Friends, take heart with these words from 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (KJV). Christ broke the biggest curse of all through His crucifixion. I don’t know about you, but that gives me tons of hope. If the worst curse in human history could be broken, then surely generational curses that run in families today can be broken, too.

Take the First Step

How do we break the curse? How do we break the cycle of generational trauma? The answer will be unique to each person, to each family, and to each generation. But we can all help break the stigma around mental health and encourage one another to become cycle breakers.

Start with prayer. Turn towards God. Reach out to professionals. Be open with your family, your pastor, and your therapist. Accept that trauma has occurred but also accept that there is a way forward.

You can break the cycle. You can stop generational trauma in its tracks. The curse can end with you.