As you can see, there is a list of categories you can now choose from. I'm not sure how it came about. It was never a decision I made, it just evolved into something more than a ministry exclusively for women who have been sexually abused.

And the reality is, my testimony, which can be read in my book The Jonah Chronicles, is about so much more than overcoming the effects of child sexual abuse. The truth is, many bad choices were made from the depravity of my childhood, long after the abuse had ended. And with those choices, came an incredible amount of dysfunction. 

I recently shared my testimony with a Celebrate Recovery group and just before I was introduced, I read the list of "hang ups" listed on the program handout:

alcoholism, divorce, sexual abuse, codependency, domestic violence, drug addiction, sexual addiction, over/under eating, gambling, overworking, abandonment, anxiety, anger, depression,perfectionist, fear, lying, overspending, abused/abuser, grief, insecurity, guilt, loneliness, financial struggles, relationship problems, slave to something, too busy, frustrated, and or lost.

Wow. My life has been affected by every hang-up on that list, with the exception of gambling, unless you count getting involved with a drug addict and thinking I could keep him clean. It's mind boggling really, how Christ came into my heart and began to unravel the layers of crazy over my life; some of it self-inflicted, though certainly not all.   

There are many circumstances that can make a woman feel desperate and overwhelmed. Most of us were not hurt by one neat little topic at a time and most of us don't heal that way either. Damage and the redemption of it have a way of spilling over into more than one area of our lives. And so, you'll find that blog topics will vary.

The goal for all of us is to follow the Savior's lead. He may lead us into a healing process over abuse for several months, and then turn our attention to something else for a while. It's a process...a journey really, and He decides on the scenery from one day to the next, not us.

The longer I held His hand on the journey to healing, the less concerned I became about "healing." Christ slowly became the sought after prize in my life and one day I looked up and I was no longer bound to that long list of hang-ups...by then my freedom was in knowing who He created me to be.

Spend some time with God today...alone. I don't offer you easy steps to healing, but I will validate you, comfort you, equip you from personal experience, and honor you along the way. Your journey to healing may look completely different than mine, but we share the same Healer. Follow Him into your own destiny.

And you my friend, will have a story to tell!