Come Alongside

Pain. Suffering. Trauma.

These experiences cross all boundaries of culture, language, religion, and status.

The statement "This is just the way life is for them. They expect it"  is not true for any group of people. The reality that life has been a particular way for many years does not make it acceptable or tolerable; nor does it lessen the impact on the human spirit. The evidence of survival does not negate the atrocity that initiated the test of endurance. The appeal for help may only be quietly whispered-but the longing for peace and hope perseveres.

"We have suffered for so many years. How do we recover?"

"We have never talked about our suffering. How do we begin?"

"Can I know peace? Where do I find hope?"

"Where is God in my suffering?"

Suffering is one of our most common earthly experiences. Around the world, our stories long to be told and our spirits cry out for the gentle reminder that we all have a reason for hope.This is where Come Alongside enters the picture, providing guidance for those who want to conduct safe and relevant conversations around the difficult topic of suffering. It is written specifically to connect across many cultures and to be easily translated into other languages. Come Alongside will equip individuals and groups with:

• the encouragement to speak about pain openly, without fear;
• the foothold needed to provide companionship and a safe space for healing; and
• the opportunity to bring the Good Shepherd, the perfect traveling companion to us all, on the journey.

Author Susan Habegger was no stranger to trauma. She had invested years of her life working with people around the world who had endured pain. But personal experience brought her face-to-face with the actuality of suffering. Her perspective of how to walk through pain-and through potential healing-imploded and completely transformed.

Now Susan feels an urgency to connect with others in the confusion that can inhibit healing. In spiritual settings, the tendency is to jump quickly to healing and resolution-attempting to solve the problem; but Susan realized that it could be through our very openness to pain that we become true examples of life and redemption at its fullest.

Come Alongside is for all who want to help others journey toward healing with courage and peace. The reality of pain is not an obstacle to our message of hope. In fact, this conversation is an open door to our good news. People from all cultures want connection in their suffering-connection to themselves,  to their communities and, perhaps, even to God.

"We have been told that our experience is our identity. Work harder-survive and be stronger. But this teaching has shown us that the trauma is not our identity. You have helped us to look at the suffering straight on and recognize how trauma attempts to control our lives. [We now know the trauma] is only part of our story and that there are ways to live in a healthy way-remembering the suffering but not under its control. I feel such release from what I have carried all these years." (Northern Uganda)