When the Past Shows Up in the Present

By Olivia Lanier, LCSW

Remember in my last few posts talking about feeling “stuck” in a memory or a traumatic experience? This is a very common experience for trauma survivors. You feel like things are “okay” but then there are moments that feel strangely familiar in the worst ways possible. 

A conversation suddenly feels unsafe. A raised voice sends your nervous system into panic.
A relationship conflict feels far bigger than the moment itself. You react before you can think then afterward, you wonder: “Why did that affect me so deeply?”

For many people, the answer is not weakness, immaturity, or lack of faith. The answer is often that the past is showing up in the present.Trauma has a way of traveling through time.

For Christians, this can create an especially painful tension. We may sincerely believe God has forgiven us, redeemed us, and made us new, yet still find ourselves emotionally trapped by old wounds. We pray, read Scripture, attend church, and still feel activated by memories, relationships, or fears we thought we had already overcome.

Trauma is not simply remembering something painful. Trauma is what happens when overwhelming experiences become stored in the nervous system without being fully processed.

That means your body can react to present situations as though the original pain is happening all over again.

A child who grew up constantly criticized may become highly defensive as an adult when receiving feedback.

Someone abandoned in relationships may panic when a spouse becomes emotionally distant for even a moment.

A person raised in chaos may feel unsafe in calmness because their nervous system learned to expect instability.

The brain is trying to protect you. But protection patterns formed in pain can begin to control your present life.

This is why people often say:

• “I know I’m safe, but I don’t feel safe.”

• “I know God loves me, but I still feel rejected and alone.”

• “I know the truth intellectually, but emotionally I can’t get there.”

The issue is not always a lack of faith. Sometimes the wound itself needs healing.

In some Christian spaces, emotional struggles are reduced to spiritual problems alone:

• “Just pray more.”

• “You need stronger faith.”

• “You should forgive and move on.”

Prayer matters deeply. Forgiveness matters deeply. Faith matters deeply.

But God also created the human mind and nervous system. Healing is not unspiritual simply because it involves medication, psychology, or therapy.

Throughout Scripture, God consistently works through both spiritual and practical means. Elijah experienced God’s care through rest and food before receiving direction. David openly expressed grief, fear, and despair in the Psalms. Jesus himself responded to human suffering with compassion, not shame.

Healing has always involved the whole person: body, mind, soul, and spirit.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a practical and evidence based practice that trained therapists can use to assist clients in working through the past “for good” so it doesn’t continue showing up in the present. 

During EMDR, a therapist guides a person in recalling painful experiences while using bilateral stimulation such as eye movements, tapping, or sounds. This process helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they no longer carry the same overwhelming emotional intensity.

The goal is not to erase memories. Therapists don’t have a magic wand and can’t go back and change time. The goal is to help the nervous system recognize that yes, that terrible thing happened, yes it was painful, AND I am no longer experiencing that moment and am safe and okay now. 

Many Christians are initially hesitant about EMDR because it sounds unfamiliar or overly clinical. But EMDR is not about replacing faith. It is about helping the brain heal from unresolved distress.

In many ways, it creates space for people to experience truth more deeply instead of merely understanding it intellectually.

One of the hardest realities for trauma survivors is that trauma can often distort reality and identity. Negative life experiences can lead a person to believe that they are unloved, unwanted, not good enough. When adding the Christian perspective, this creates an inner conflict because your mind knows one thing yet your nervous system feels another. 

EMDR can help bridge that gap, too. The gap from the negative beliefs of yourself to the truths of being loved, having worth, and the truth that God never abandons us. One of the most beautiful aspects of Christianity is that Jesus consistently moved toward wounded people rather than away from them.

He did not shame people for suffering. He did not rush the grieving process. He did not demand perfection before offering love.

Trauma survivors often carry shame, but true healing begins when shame loses its grip. Christ’s posture toward the hurting was always compassionate truth. He acknowledged pain while also calling people toward restoration.

That matters because unresolved trauma often convinces people they are beyond healing, which is frankly not true.

Healing does not mean pretending the past never happened.It means the past no longer defines your present reactions, relationships, or identity.

Sometimes God heals instantly. Sometimes healing unfolds gradually through prayer, community, therapy, honesty, and time.

For many Christ followers, EMDR becomes one of the tools God uses in that process.Not because therapy replaces faith, not because your therapist has special powers, but because healing often integrates spiritual, emotional, and relational aspects into the same process.

When the past shows up in the present, it is not always a sign that you are failing. Sometimes it is an invitation to heal what has been carrying pain for far too long. And healing is not contrary to Christianity. Healing is deeply consistent with the heart of Christ.