Grace Between the Layers

There are days when I wonder if healing ever really ends. Not in a hopeless way. Just in that quiet, honest moment where you realise you’ve worked through one thing, only to find another waiting underneath it. Like you finally caught your breath and then life gently says, there’s more here.

Healing feels a lot like peeling an onion…

You face one layer. You do the work. You sit with the memories, the patterns, the habits that kept you safe once but don’t serve you anymore. You think, okay, I did that. I survived it. And then you realise there’s another layer beneath it asking for your attention.

That’s when it can start to feel overwhelming.

Most of us didn’t collect these layers overnight. They’ve been building for decades. From childhood. From trauma. From disappointment. From moments we didn’t have the words for yet. So we tucked things away. We balled them up tight and wrapped them in twine because that’s all we knew how to do at the time.

And that was survival.

But when you finally start untangling it all, it can feel like too much. Seeing how many layers there are makes you want to quit. Not because you don’t want healing, but because you’re tired. Because it feels endless. Because you start wondering if you’re more broken than you thought.

This is where I have to remind myself of something I forget far too easily.

Grace never runs out.

Not when you uncover one hard thing and then find another. Not when you feel discouraged by how slow it’s going. Not when you wish you were further along by now. God isn’t standing there counting your progress or waiting for you to get it right.

He’s with you in every single layer.

He knows how they formed. He knows why you needed them. He knows what each one protected you from. And He isn’t rushing you through any of it.

Grace meets you in the tears. Grace meets you in the confusion. Grace meets you when all you can do is sit with what hurts instead of fixing it.

And slowly, quietly, you start to learn things along the way.

You learn you’re stronger than you ever gave yourself credit for.

You learn facing the truth doesn’t destroy you.

You learn God is gentle with the places you’re still figuring out.

Healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about becoming more honest. More aware. More present. More rooted in the truth that you are already loved right where you are.

If you’re in the middle of this right now, I want you to hear this.

You are brave.

You’re doing the thing. You’re willing to try. You’re choosing to look inward instead of running. You’re holding onto the hand that created you, even when you’re scared of what you might uncover next.

That matters more than you realise.

Every layer you face isn’t proof of failure. It’s proof of courage. It’s evidence that you’re choosing healing, even when it costs you comfort and certainty.

And when it feels like too much, when you wonder how you’ll ever get through all of it, come back to this truth.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”-2 Corinthians 12:9

You’re not doing this alone.

Grace is between every single layer.

Love, Sarah xx.

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Reflection: What layer has God been gently bringing to the surface lately, and what would it look like to meet it with grace instead of frustration?

Prayer: God, I’m tired of feeling like I should be further along by now.

There are layers I didn’t ask for, wounds I didn’t choose, and parts of me I’m still learning how to hold.

Thank You for never rushing me.

Thank You for meeting me in every layer, not just the healed ones.

When I feel overwhelmed by how much there is to work through, remind me that Your grace doesn’t run out halfway through the process.

Help me trust You with the slow unfolding.

Help me believe I’m brave for showing up, even when I feel unsure.

And when I uncover something that hurts, sit with me there and teach me how to heal without shame.

I place each layer in Your hands.

Hold me steady as You do what only You can do.

Amen.

If this met you where you are, don’t scroll past it quietly.

Share it with someone who needs permission to go gently with their healing. Someone who’s peeling layers too, wondering if they’re doing it right.

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Thank you for being here. Truly.

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