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Sexual Abuse and Marriage
I am a new “convert” to the LCMS because of my marriage. I was raised Baptist, in a very strict home. My parents seemed intent on keeping ALL things sexual in nature from our home. Not a mention of it, not in movies, music, nothing. I rebelled a ton as a teenager and wound up being sexually abused by a couple of men, one of whom was double my age, when I was only 15. My husband, likewise, had several one night stands during a short phase in college. We never realized how these things affected our marriage until recently. Neither of us feels any palpable jealousy or upset over…
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On the Loss no one wants to discuss
Editor’s note. Because of the very sensitive nature of this post, comments will be watched carefully. Please remember your compassion before commenting. By Anonymous I am a mother but I have no child. I don’t tell people about my loss and I don’t know if I ever really will. When I think about my baby my feelings are deeply sorrowful and guilty. And ashamed. You see, I had an abortion. I am a mother with no child because my child is dead… and I bear the guilt for it. I’ve repented and been absolved. I’ve grown up more and gotten married. And yet I’ve never gotten over or moved…
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To My Daughter, On Becoming a Woman
To my daughter once, my dear little girl, and now, a young woman: One normal evening, out of the blue, you were catapulted into the next stage of your life, and I, without any qualifications and little warning, was advanced to the next level of parenting. Like you, I’m a few parts scared and a few parts excited. Here are a few things I’d like you to know, from my heart to yours. This is a lot to handle. Oh, how I’d like to let you stay home from school, curl up in a ball, and eat chocolate all day! I know, dear, that this is a lot to handle. …
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This Mother’s Day I Need to Hear Jesus
By Anonymous Growing up I dreaded going to church on Mother’s Day. It was a day that I knew I would hear a sermon pontificating more on the faithfulness of mothers than the faithfulness of Christ. I was growing up with a mom who was physically, verbally and emotionally abusive. She did not love me unconditionally, and she continually refused to fulfill basic responsibilities like feeding her kids. The arbitrary blows from my mom were combined with the neglect of my workaholic father whose only intervention was to continually remind me that if I didn’t keep my mom happy I would face one of two outcomes as consequence for my…
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Loss, Grief, and Miscarriage
–This post was submitted anonymously. I had a miscarriage, and it’s a secret. My child, which was being knit together by God in a secret place died, and became a secret also. He was alive inside me long enough for me to begin dreaming about what his life would be like, but not long enough to seem real now as I look back to this shadowy time in my life. This child, who in my imagination was my son, was a gift given to me years after I had given up the possibility of carrying a child. My pregnancy test turned positive only hours before I heard my pastor preach…
