A Liminal Space

Content Warning: This post discusses childhood sexual abuse and trauma recovery. While I don’t include graphic details, the content may be difficult for some readers. Please prioritize your well-being and read only if you have the capacity.

This morning, on the eve of Valentine’s Day, I awakened from a visceral dream. I was compelled to write it down. The image above, created by Canva AI from my description, captures what I saw – a mansion in Maine. A Gothic refuge like the ones in Stephen King stories, where a little girl who knew real horrors learned that even haunted houses could be safer than home.

Without going into all the details of the dream, I’ll give you the message I awakened hearing loud and clear:

Keep going.
You’ve come too far to turn back now.
What sometimes feels like a locked door might actually be a boundary protecting you.
Love reveals.
Love exposes the truth of what is hiding beneath what appears to look like a normal human face.
Hold onto love when you only see monsters.
Love is what will give you the courage to hold on when the nature of evil is being exposed.
Look for the helpers.
They are always there.
Sometimes what looks like buzzards circling – like something tearing you to pieces – might be grief that’s necessary to grieve in order to see your true self.
It’s ok to take a leap.
Sometimes what looks like waters that will sweep you away will bring you home to love.
The courage it takes to open your heart after you’ve been eaten alive requires a miracle – something outside of the ordinary to help a person see love is real.
Maybe the reason we are here is just for love.

Just a dream?
Or just my mind’s effort to cope with the horrible evil being exposed in the news headlines?
I don’t know. I won’t try to understand.

But the little girl who lived the nightmare in my own life at the hands of men who consumed their victims without caring whom they harmed can testify:
Monsters are indeed real.
But so is love.

It stands high and lofty above all else on what might look like the edge of a cliff.
But it offers locked doors that become containers, walls that shelter rather than trap.
It is always looking out for you.

So don’t stop now.
Keep going.
You’ve come too far to turn back now.
Love is waiting.

Breaking Inside Shinedown

The courage to open your heart after trauma requires support. If you’re navigating your own healing journey – particularly recovery from religious trauma or controlling systems – I offer trauma-informed peer coaching through A Liminal Space. Using IFS and somatic approaches, I help survivors reconnect with their self-led wisdom and learn that locked doors can become containers for transformation. Reach out to loriwilliamslimnalspace@gmail.com.