What is "spiritual avulsion?"

Some new readers have asked where the name "Spiritual Avulsion" on the blog comes from. Good question.

SA is a somewhat personal term I've used to describe the tearing of the soul when I went through a very bad time in life that is indescribable. At that time, the experience was so intense that I could sense a separation (of sorts) of the parts of my being - body, mind, and spirit.  It was difficult to describe, let alone have anyone relate to, unless the listener had a similar experience.

If you look at the medical term for the word avulsion, you'll find it described as a forceable tearing of tissue, leaving jagged edges that are difficult to repair (suture), usually leaving nasty scars and disfigurement.  It seemed appropriate to apply the term to the spiritual to describe an intense tearing on a deeper level than the physical.

In a sense, I've had a similar experience when I asked God to make me the man He wants me to be. If you've ever read C. S. Lewis's Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, one of the characters (can't recall his name, but it was the bratty cousin) was turned into a dragon and desparately wanted to be turned back into a boy. The scales couldn't be scraped off, as hard as he tried to rid himself of them.

The only thing that saved him was a painful avulsion of his being, and when he turned back into a boy, he was truly transformed.

Over the past several months, Kimberly and I have commited ourselves to living our faith to the best of our ability each day. Preparing for Nicaragua, I must say, has not been smooth. Planning itself with the team has been great, but personally, many doubts have crept in and exuses keep hammering away as additional life tasks continue to add up.  Don Graffam described this as conviction rather than guilt or lack of faith. 

So, in the past SA related to the tearing of the events that led to "the desert" times.  Most recently, the spiritual avulsion has been in God removing the scales from me, and it's not been painless, and attacks come from the bad guy. But, I am putting on the full armor of God each day and thanking God for sending me to do the work he has for me.
JH