My Truth - My Stake in the Ground (cont)

I am still waiting on a classmate for a picture, so I will just go ahead with my posting and hopefully I'll be able to add the picture soon. Every week has a different theme in regard to our study of the Bible. The second week of classes was confession and we ended the week with public confession, which is more than a bit intimidating! Those of you who know me best, know that I like to keep it real and I feel like I haven't been as truthful with all of you as I would like to be. I never wanted to burden anyone with my "little secret" and that is still my hope, but I feel that in order to move on in my life, this is something you should know.

I confessed that I have been unforgiving in my life (most of my life actually) towards an uncle because he sexually abused me as a child. There's no nice or easy way to say it, but I feel like I have to embrace my truth. As a public statement, after confession, we hammered a stake into the ground to remember this change. I am not forgiving to excuse what happened (forgiveness has never been asked of me by this relative), but I am forgiving to free myself and not be angry and bitter. I am sorry if any of you have been at the receiving end of my anger or bitterness - it truly all stems from this. The whole experience in Hawaii (and beyond) will definitely be a time of healing for me and I hope to use my experience and pain to help others who have probably experienced much more pain in their lives.

Picture thanks to Jeanette!