Category: Rape Recovery

Rape is not just a physical and sexual assault – it is a psychological and emotional assault too. As I reflect on my experience of being raped and the emotional rollercoaster that ensued, I am still amazed at the lies I believed. These lies became my reality. Worthlessness. Blame. Guilt. Shame. Feeling trapped. Hopelessness. Defeat.…

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you (Jeremiah 31:3 AMP).”   If I could have used any domain name it would have simply been – “Relentless.”  Not because I am relentless, but because God has been relentlessly pursuing me even amidst…

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18 NIV).   You don’t have to go very far in the Bible to see that God is near to the brokenhearted. In Genesis there are a number of occasions where God pursues and is near to the brokenhearted.…

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book (Psalm 56:8 NLT).” As I was praying about what to share of my story God brought this verse to my mind. I am so overwhelmed at the depth of God’s goodness…

My first visit ever to the gynecologist was after being raped. For whatever reason, visits to the gynecologist became a trigger for me, eliciting all the psychological and physiological responses of being raped for me.  Palpitations. Panic. Queasiness. Crying. Vulnerability. Feeling Violated. Humiliated. Uncomfortable. A constant reminder of a deep inner scar that hadn’t fully healed.  

Below is a list of books that were particularly encouraging to me on my journey toward hope and healing:

Why do bad things happen? I have heard people argue against the existence of God based upon this very thing: “If there is a God, then why does He allow bad things to happen?” Bad things happening in the world don’t discourage or derail my faith. The bad things that have happened in my life…

I know I wrote about “Rotten Responses,” but I felt like this particular response wasn’t a rotten response, just a misguided one. I had a college pastor tell me “I know how you feel,” after I explained how I had been raped.

Starting my sophomore year, I spent every summer in college working at an architectural firm as an intern. It was a small firm. When I began, there were four or five employees and I frequently found myself alone with one other coworker due to meetings.

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father(Romans 8:15 NIV).’” I get fear. From my upbringing of rejection and emotional abuse, to being raped and acting out of duress…