Although I was 18, I had the body of a child. Had I not received medical intervention, I might have continued to reject my sexual self pound by pound until I died. Before I became consciously aware of my sexual abuse and its consequences, I blamed myself for my inappropriate physical relationships with boyfriends and my inability to stop dieting, binging, and purging. I believed I was a bad person and a terrible Christian. Knowledge and acceptance of my sexual abuse has freed me from guilt, shame, and self-condemnation and empowered me to take personal responsibility and consciously act differently in the future.
Sexual abuse is neither pleasant nor easy to discuss.
But there are thousands of teenage girls and women who, because of childhood secrets and suppressed memories, are in bondage to habits that destroy their bodies and hearts. They need family, friends, and a courageous community to help them face the truth about their abuse, painful as it may be. It is too costly to avoid the truth about sexual abuse in our own lives and families, or in our church. There are too many in bondage, and they need the truth to help set them free. Cheri Lynn Gregory teaches in a junior high school.