Abuse = Dis-Ease

" Jesus said, ' Now is the Son of Man glorified . . . My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how we will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." --[John 13: 31-33A, 34-35].


[April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.]
Each year in April, I write a piece on child abuse.

I would call child abuse a "hidden suffering." Families with abuse live in a "closed system."  -- No outsider gains intimate access to the home or family.  And, no one from inside the family discloses the truth of what is going on, to people outside.

My mother used to say, "What happens in these four walls, stays in these four walls." And, we kept the windows and doors closed and locked at all times, even on a very hot day, the windows shrouded in three layers of blinds, curtain and drapes.

The effects of child abuse are shattering:

More than 90% of women in prison are survivors of domestic violence, a situation much more likely to arise if the woman was abused as a child.

About 80% of mental illness is attributed to a past history of child abuse. The effects include anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, and even multiple personality disorder and bipolar disorder.

Simply being bullied as a child changes the brain, and new studies show that these changes have permanent effects.

Child abuse survivors are much more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. A man who scored above 6 on the ACES Test ( Adverse Childhood Experiences Study), has a 4600 percent greater chance of abusing drugs.

Child abuse survivors are much more likely to harm themselves through cutting or suicide attempts.

Child abuse survivors are more likely to abuse their own children, or be involved in an abusive relationship.

Child abuse survivors are more likely to suffer chronic physical conditions such as respiratory, cardiac, gastroenterological;  or to suffer from obesity.

Child abuse survivors can suffer from wounded spirituality,  perhaps from a belief that God could have or should have rescued them, but somehow, He abandoned them.

Female child abuse survivors are less likely to be able to enjoy healthy relationships and to marry.

Many of the homeless in America experienced childhood trauma. Robin Karr-Morse, co-author of "Scared Sick", writes "The homeless and mentally ill are the castoff remnants of emotional trauma."

In my childhood, I experienced emotional abuse, verbal abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and on and on. I faced death at least 6-8 times, yet I survived!

I SHOULD be: dead; in prison; alone; homeless; addicted; suicidal; in a mental institution; an abusive mother; obese; in and out of hospitals; angry at the world; isolated; rejecting God.

And YET:
I am not in jail.
I am not harming myself.
I am married.
I am a loving mother.
I am not an alcohol or drug abuser.
I embrace each day for what it brings.
I have many friends.
I have a beautiful home and neighborhood.
I go out each day to see who I can help or uplift.
I LOVE my God!


I am someone who has BEATEN the statistics. I am a MIRACLE! And, as a Miracle, I am living proof of God's Love. I am living proof of God Himself.

Make no mistake, I struggle every day. I have a chronic lung disease. I struggle with anxiety, with my emotions, with chronic depression; and with crushing guilt for no reason at all.

The single most important thing that has saved me, though-- is LOVE.

And, that LOVE comes from God. For God IS LOVE.

No, it was not God who abandoned me. It was God who SAVED me.

God was -- and IS -- my Father and my Mother.

People who know me say that I am transformed now. They see a glow about me, which they call, "The Joy of the Lord."

 For, I see "a new Heaven and a new earth. The former Heaven and the former earth have passed away. A loud voice from the throne (is) saying, 'Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be His people and God Himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.' " -[Revelation 21: 1-5A]

My God walks with me in Love each and every day. My family, my friends, my neighbors, my fellow parishioners at my church, my "prayer buddies" and all of YOU-- walk with me in Love.

Abuse kills and destroys, like the thief who comes only to "kill and steal and destroy. BUT, Jesus has come that I may have life and have it to the fullest." - [John 10:10]."

Love creates Life. Love sustains Life. Love heals the broken and wounded. Love never ends.


[Related Postings: "The Legacy of Abuse", April 24, 2014; "Warning Signs of Abuse", May 10, 2013; "Rescuing the Invisible Child", April 18, 2012; "STOP Abuse", April 14, 2011.]

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