In order to grow and mature emotionally we have to be vulnerable and genuine in facing life's daily experiences, but because we are traumatized when we are young we stop being vulnerable and thus stop growing emotionally. Because of this your body may be 45 but you emotional maturity may be stuck back at 12. We have believed a lie that life stopped being safe when we were younger so we closed shop, pulled back, and decided to go into a full-time mode of self-protection and any natural expression of emotions stopped because we had to learn to behave in a "safe" manner. We allowed fear to take the place of trust and from then on we could only trust in addiction.

When we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives to help us to get free from our addiction problem He begins to take us back to the place where we walked away from life and He causes us to face our pain so that we can be healed and normal again. God shows us the lie we believed (i.e. "We are unprotected in life") and He shows us that He really will protect us if we need it and that it is OK to act naturally again. I want to encourage you today my friend that if you are giving God full control over your life that you are indeed protected and that it is OK to express natural emotion once again and thus allow your emotional age to catch up to your chronological age. God is with you.

^{DT 23:14 For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you.}

2TH 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.