Abuse

I have never written about this before, but a recent event makes me feel as if I need to. I grew up in a home of physical, emotional and verbal abuse until my Mom and Dad separated when I was 11 years old.

My father was an alcoholic who would become violent and lash out at my mother, siblings, and I. My mother bore the brunt of his attacks. He almost killed her one time when we lived in Collins, Georgia where we attended the First Baptist Church. My Mom, on that night, escaped Dad's attack and the pastor and his wife gave my mother safe harbor. I remember visiting her there and the lights having to stay off due to the damage her eyes and face had suffered. My grandfather and uncles arrived soon after to move us from Collins back to my grandparent's home.

I remember a Sunday afternoon when we were living in my Uncle Harry's home in Whigham, Georgia, and my Dad had made his trip to the Florida Georgia state line to buy beer, and the interrogations began upon his return. He would call my siblings and I out onto the front porch one by one and threaten us with physical punishment if we did not come up with something to tell on each other. This lasted all afternoon with each being punished for the things the others had said.

I remember going to school with makeup on my face, applied by my mother, to cover up the black eye my father had given me. When asked by school staff what had happened I said I had walked into a door.

My Mom told me the beatings for me began while I was still an infant. I was born with ear, nose, and throat issues and kept ear infections. As an infant I would cry to express the pain I was feeling and my father would beat me for crying. I eventually had tubes put in my ears which seemed to alleviate the issues.

I write about this now not to get sympathy or anything else but because someone I love dearly is currently in a controlling, emotionally and verbally abusive relationship. They have gotten away three (3) different times and gone back. They have been in relationships throughout their life which encompassed all three (3) forms of abuse mentioned. I have tried reaching them every way I know and failed; so, I am looking for suggestions. I am praying and seeking God for them and I know He sees what is going on. Maybe, I am also just venting and frustrated.

But the point is, no one has to stay in that situation. Someone in your circle can and will help you, but you have to reach out. If they offer, because they have figured out what is happening, you have to get out of that situation. You do no deserve to be treated in such a way. God made you complete and in His image. You do not need to be in any type of abusive relationship. Please get help. Please.