Tag: Abuse

Singing, serving, smiling — but looks can be deceiving. by Don Cox as told to Muriel Larson   In my home, I was the king; my family members were the peasants. At least that was the way I saw things. Whenever there was the slightest resistance to my will, my violent temper could assert itself….

A new adventure of biblical truth. by Betty Smith   Sixteen-year-old Angela struggled to find the chord among the piano keys. She pressed a combination. The sound made me cringe. “It’s okay,” I assured her. As I reached for the keyboard, I felt my heart quickening. My hand trembled as it hovered over the keys….

by Beth Swain   Relieved, I watched the counselor gather his papers without asking me that dreaded question. Then, as if an afterthought, he asked, “Oh, was there any sexual abuse?” There it was. “You mean with me?” I asked, attempting a casual facade. Still, my quivering voice betrayed me. “Yes, with you.” His kind…

Finding forgiveness for the deepest hurts.  by Shirley A. Reynolds   On a concrete bench in a mausoleum courtyard, I tried to muster courage. Shaking my fist at the foliage, I said, “I’m not leaving until I’ve emptied my heart of this anger toward my mother.” Oh Mama, I thought. Why did you use a…

Releasing bitterness and finding peace. by Audrey Hector   Angry, rebellious, and bitter. I hated my husband. I hated my job. I hated people. But most of all, I hated God. I teetered on the edge of insanity and fell deeper and deeper into the black hole of depression. I wasn’t always this way. I…

From rage to joy, hatred to love. by Kay Cherry* as told to Muriel Larson   Raging with anger, I struck fiercely at my small daughter. She cringed in terror from the blows. Suddenly, I stopped and looked in horror at my tightly curled fist, then buried my face in my hands and wept. I’m…

The suffering of Christ gives newmeaning to a suffering man. by Douglas Hainer as told to Marguerite Tustan   My earliest memory is being struck in the head with the butt of a rifle. It was my fourth birthday. My older sister, jealous of the attention I was receiving, hit me so hard that I…

Deliverance from the nightmare of spousal abuse. by Kay May with Muriel Larson   Norm seemed like such a nice guy when we dated. He had a great sense of humor, and we laughed a lot. We went to church together. He professed to be a Christian and even taught a Bible school class. Little…

Understanding past and present influencesto find freedom for the future. by Muriel Larson   My dedicated Christian friend, Melissa*, told me, “The memory of that awful experience when I was four has been indelibly seared into my mind; I have relived it again and again. It has profoundly affected my whole life. It is the…