Merry Christmas
For many people, Christmas is not merry. It is a time of anxiety and stress. It might even be a time of flashbacks and fear. For a few, there is a real danger to going home for the holidays. If abuse has not been disclosed,...
Beware the Patient Predator
I read a story yesterday that turned my stomach. A judge decreased a mandatory sentence for a child rapist by 15 years. He reasoned that his crime was not premeditated.Where is the justice? If he raped a three year old girl, he had to have thought...
Don’t Burn Your Bridges
When I was a kid my grandmother used to say, "Don't burn your bridges." I din't really know what she meant, but I remembered that saying.We have all kinds of bridges in our lives. Medicines can be a bridge to get health back or get...
Do What You Can
When I started this blog with the new theme, I expected to be actively fighting sex trafficking. Having survived four years of living in my sneakers and child sexual abuse from toddlerhood, God has brought me so far; from uttermost to uttermost.Yesterday, I received a...
When I Fight With Everything
It's been one of those days. Every inanimate object is my enemy today. I haven't even seen any people yet; not even a digital interaction and I am frustrated and exhausted.I wake up in pain. That's just my life with Lyme, but some days it's...
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
In the work of healing, there are often setbacks. As I write and compare living with Lyme Disease to living with the traumatic experiences of child sexual abuse and child sex trafficking, I’m struck at the incredible similarities.Lyme is nebulous. There is currently no cure,...
The Work of Healing
If you have ever been in a serious accident or know someone who has, you know the work of healing. Broken bones are set and torn muscles are repaired. There may be some ligaments to repair and skin grafts needed. Anyone who has had any...
Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts
Our culture is bombarded with images, text, and sounds all around us. If we are going to get away from the barrage of input, we have to be very intentional about it. These images and sounds coming from around us are often within our ability...
My Puppy has Lyme
She and I were diagnosed around the same time. Her little heart is taxed, her hair has fallen out in patches, she has had obvious pain. The dogs sleep in the basement, their comfy spots are interchangeable; in various states of cushion.When I have a...
A Renewed Mind
Some people say that, if someone has suffered child sexual abuse, they are damaged for life, or it's a life sentence, or they have suffered irreparable harm.It may be true in one sense, but it denies the incredible capacity and potential that we have as...