I was out in my garage looking through some files and came across this article from Spring of 1993! When I first saw the picture with my two daughters and I sitting together, I had a hard time remembering exactly when and where that picture was taken. I’d totally forgotten about this article.
But, as I read through it, I thought about the many women and children in our world today who could resonate with what I wrote back then.
I felt tremendous guilt all during this time, assuming in my child’s mind that the abuse was somehow my fault. To shore up my damaged self-esteem, I threw myself into over-achieving.
But there was another area, besides my self-esteem, in which I saw the effect of the abuse—and that was in relationships. All through high school I found myself attracted to emotionally abusive young men. That was followed by a period where I was far away from the Lord and dated men twice my age. I didn’t recognize the pattern, I was just looking for love. But I often ended up in very unhealthy relationships.
It wasn’t until years later, after obtaining therapy and growing in my understanding of abuse and its impact, that I understood. I could then have compassion for myself and other women who’ve travelled the same road. Today, I want them to know there is HOPE. We don’t have to continue down that road. I’ll be sharing more in the weeks and months to come about what I’ve discovered in my own life and others’ lives about finding hope and freedom beyond abuse.
I hope you’ll join me!