rape – Jemtree's Heart

We live in a world full of people with as many backgrounds as there are people. No two are completely alike. In this mix, there are abusers, abuse survivors and the unaware.

The category I fit into is abuse survivor. I was molested as a child, harassed as a teen and young adult, and raped as an adult by someone I believed I could trust.

It’s been quite a few years since it all happened to me, and it surprises me to see how it still affects my thinking of myself.

So, I’m going to address some of those things that I’ve learned, and some of the attitudes I’ve dealt with.

1) Rape and sexual harassment is never funny to a survivor. It’s never a light topic, it’s not something to be joked about. Words do matter— they conjure up memories— sometimes traumatic ones with deep emotions attached.

2) No, we can’t just get over it. Something was stolen from us, trust was violated, our spirit has been bruised. Healing over time happens but, often invisible to the natural eye, emotional scars remain.

3) We grieve over the robbery of our innocence.

4) Our body was attacked, and our bodies react to that— often through eating disorders, or even gaining weight in an attempt to self-protect. Stop the body shaming, they probably have some history of sexual abuse!

5) We are often more sensitive to criticism because many of us have an unconscious belief there must be something wrong with us for someone to hurt us so badly.

As a Christian I rely on God to be my Comfort and my Strength, but sometimes I wish I could rely on my brothers and sisters in Christ more. Relationships aren’t often easy for me to form because I still, even after so many years of God restoring what the locusts had eaten, I still have trust cautions.

All I hope to get across through this post is to encourage others to become aware. Be kind and sensitive. Hold back on criticisms.

Reality Check

Sexual Assault Damage Is Not Just Physical

September 22, 2016January 13, 2017 jem

As I read about high ranking military officers not being disciplined for sexual assault, I felt sick at my stomach, disgusted and angry. Here are men that are at the forefront of our Nation’s safety, yet they are purposely hurting those under their authority!

Sounds like something our Nation should already be past, does it not?

So, why aren’t we? Why is that an untouchable issue? What gives these men the impression that they can do whatever they want and not be held accountable? Stars on their shoulders? High prestige? The fact that they are men?

No matter how it gets overlooked, blown-off, and ignored–

it is not ok.

It’s NOT ok that they get to walk away while the woman– or man– they assault has to try to move past it. It’s NOT ok that the attackers’ lives are intact, while the victims’ lives are shattered. IT’s NOT ok that they abuse the authority that they have been entrusted with.

It’s NEVER ok.

For every life they have destroyed, they are accountable. For every suicide that happened as a result of their abuse of authority, blood is on their hands. For every child conceived in their selfish lustful greed, borne or aborted with shame, they are accountable. For every life shattered, every career destroyed, every hope smothered– they are accountable.

Ladies and Gentlemen– This is our current day Air Force, led by yesterday’s male chauvinist pigs.

Think it’s time for a change yet?

If we call enough attention to this, things WILL change. They have to.

What happens when 4-star Air Force general is accused of sexual assault?

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/air-force-investigating-sexual-assault-report-against-4-star-general-1.425762#gallery

An Honest Perspective, The Past, Uncategorized, What life has taught me

So What?

June 25, 2015June 26, 2015 jem

This is what my insides feel like every time I try to write my story. Gut-wrenched. I describe that feeling to my husband as killer moths flapping around in my tummy.

Every time I tell a portion of my story it feels like someone reached inside of me and yanked a piece of me out.

I wasn’t supposed to tell. But I did, and cops were called. I wasn’t supposed to talk to anyone about it, but I did. I had to. It was destroying me from the inside-out to not try to get someone to hear me. Then the worry and fear of having told would try to destroy me from the inside-out. I told someone, and then the one who hurt me, who tried to intimidate me to stay silent, tried to take his own life. Part of me grieved and blamed myself. Part of me wouldn’t miss him, would be relieved.. Which then kicked-off a worry-guilt-hatred cycle.

All that turmoil I felt for years, so many years ago, comes right back when I am writing my story. It’s agonizing and spirit-crushing to remember, to admit it all in writing.

I was molested as a child.

I was raped as an adult.

I was emotionally and verbally beat-up both as a child and as an adult.

But I’m not anymore.

I’m not anymore…

The feelings, as I recall things and relive them in my memories, they are tumultuous.

I’ve convinced myself what has happened in my life, all I have survived, is nothing special. Everyone goes through traumatic things at some point. And then as I tell someone something I realize– I have a unique story to tell because so many things have happened to me. And I lived through them, and passed through to the other side where things are instead normal.

It will take me awhile to write my story, because there is so much to it, and very little is easy to pass on to others. Part of me goes in to all I write and share.

Please be patient. Please stay with me, even if it takes awhile. What God has done through every experience is nothing short of miraculous.

American, An Honest Perspective, God's Heart, The Past, Walking With God, What life has taught me

Exposed

March 10, 2015March 10, 2015 jem

I hate my past.

I hate the parts of my personal story that involve my past. I don’t like who I was, I don’t like what I lived through. I abhor my reactions and choices. I despise where I had no choice or that I had no one to help me, to comfort me, or just talk with.

Yeah, I hate my past.

Maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to get my book written. I hate reliving it. I hate thinking about it. I hate how when I am in a group of people and I just want to fit into the conversation, I feel compelled to share my experiences so I can identify with others. And I hate how vulnerable and

exposed

I often feel when I tell something deeply personal.

Who really wants to hear about the horror experiences of my childhood and teens, and for what reasons do they want to hear about them?

Who cares? About me?

I loathe feeling like other people think I’m competing in storytelling. I hate how it just feels normal to me that I have gone through so many things, and then I see that look of shock on the face of someone I’ve opened up to- then I realize, my life has been anything but normal.

It’s like a thorn in my side.

The parts I don’t hate about my past are when God shines through, as a warm, magnanimous Light, as if He has given my heart the most loving hug.

Healing me, bringing completeness to my injured, abused soul.

Exposure reveals the miracles and even the heart of God throughout my life.

Hating my past has helped me to love and appreciate God. Living my life, I’ve learned there is no one more trustworthy and faithful than God.