- Jun 5, 2014
- 281
- 685
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Single
16 years ago, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I was a prodigal child who knew God as a very young girl. I had been chasing the world and all its sinful fruits, and suddenly found divine love and grace.
Shortly after my conversion, I met the man who would become my husband. We started with the premarital relations and I got pregnant 3 months after meeting him. And it's not like I had a bunch of lust for him - I sincerely believed that we were meant to be together, and that my getting pregnant meant that God wanted us to be married. I actually was not attracted to him very much because he constantly belittled me for my past before Christ.
He convinced me that he would be happier in a cabin in the woods 500+ miles away from our families. I fought him on moving away, but the pressure was too great. He would be shaking from stress when he drove in the traffic-filled streets. His mom was verbally abusive to me, so I moved back in with my mom. Then, my brother was verbally abusive to me, in a very inappropriate and scary way. I felt like I had nowhere to go, and escaping to a remote cabin seemed like a safe option with all the chaos and tumult in our hometown.
That was 15 years ago.
It was the worst decision I ever made.
God even warned me in a dream. He showed me the chaos I would be walking into. I still moved here, feeling like I had no other option.
The culture shock has been extremely intense. I have been misunderstood and excluded by the people here. I used to be a colorful, articulate Christian with unbridled enthusiasm for life and my walk with God.
Now, I have been beaten up by life so severely that no one recognizes me.
I had to leave my ex-husband 6 years ago. My health was breaking down because of the abuse and isolation. Sadly, though I have been recovering the best I can, I am still unhealthy. It is not for lack of trying. I eat very well and work out regularly.
I have no friends. I have no boyfriend. My kids are my only company, and I refuse to be co-dependent with them. My mom did that to me. So I keep my big problems to myself, and suffer silently.
I tried going to church. I got attacked for not being vaccinated.
I tried dating. I got hurt multiple times and needed to call the cops.
I tried getting medical care. My doctor ignored me for a week. I ended up in urgent care diagnosed with an infection. The antibiotic gave me a bad reaction, and I needed an ambulance the next day. My support system is so non-existent that I needed to pull my oldest child out of school to watch the younger kids just so I could go the emergency room.
I tried visiting my family back home. But the courts will not allow me to move there with the kids, since my ex says that he can take over the parenting duties. However, this reality only exists in his head. He doesn't even check his mail or write back to emails. He cannot manage complex medical care for disabled children.
I have been looking for a new place to live for 4 summers in a row. I have been rejected and denied because of things beyond my control, like a bankruptcy because my ex-husband financially abused me (to the tune of $50,000 in credit card debt). An eviction incorrectly filed against me, but the court will not remove it from my record.
As such, my kids and I have been forced to live in an unhealthy home that has black mold, because we cannot find another place to live. The neighborhood is geographically isolated and socially deserted. The people here are so unfriendly that they go inside whenever we go out.
And this locale that my ex moved to is quite beautiful, and it had low Covid numbers. So now the housing has been bought up by people, and there is nowhere left to live. I am looking at dingy apartments for my kids and me that cost double what I am paying now.
I am not depressed.
I am demoralized by life.
Every day (almost) I read my Bible. I need to. I need God. I have been clinging to Him for dear life.
I don't understand what He's doing in my life.
I need Him to guide me through this storm.
Shortly after my conversion, I met the man who would become my husband. We started with the premarital relations and I got pregnant 3 months after meeting him. And it's not like I had a bunch of lust for him - I sincerely believed that we were meant to be together, and that my getting pregnant meant that God wanted us to be married. I actually was not attracted to him very much because he constantly belittled me for my past before Christ.
He convinced me that he would be happier in a cabin in the woods 500+ miles away from our families. I fought him on moving away, but the pressure was too great. He would be shaking from stress when he drove in the traffic-filled streets. His mom was verbally abusive to me, so I moved back in with my mom. Then, my brother was verbally abusive to me, in a very inappropriate and scary way. I felt like I had nowhere to go, and escaping to a remote cabin seemed like a safe option with all the chaos and tumult in our hometown.
That was 15 years ago.
It was the worst decision I ever made.
God even warned me in a dream. He showed me the chaos I would be walking into. I still moved here, feeling like I had no other option.
The culture shock has been extremely intense. I have been misunderstood and excluded by the people here. I used to be a colorful, articulate Christian with unbridled enthusiasm for life and my walk with God.
Now, I have been beaten up by life so severely that no one recognizes me.
I had to leave my ex-husband 6 years ago. My health was breaking down because of the abuse and isolation. Sadly, though I have been recovering the best I can, I am still unhealthy. It is not for lack of trying. I eat very well and work out regularly.
I have no friends. I have no boyfriend. My kids are my only company, and I refuse to be co-dependent with them. My mom did that to me. So I keep my big problems to myself, and suffer silently.
I tried going to church. I got attacked for not being vaccinated.
I tried dating. I got hurt multiple times and needed to call the cops.
I tried getting medical care. My doctor ignored me for a week. I ended up in urgent care diagnosed with an infection. The antibiotic gave me a bad reaction, and I needed an ambulance the next day. My support system is so non-existent that I needed to pull my oldest child out of school to watch the younger kids just so I could go the emergency room.
I tried visiting my family back home. But the courts will not allow me to move there with the kids, since my ex says that he can take over the parenting duties. However, this reality only exists in his head. He doesn't even check his mail or write back to emails. He cannot manage complex medical care for disabled children.
I have been looking for a new place to live for 4 summers in a row. I have been rejected and denied because of things beyond my control, like a bankruptcy because my ex-husband financially abused me (to the tune of $50,000 in credit card debt). An eviction incorrectly filed against me, but the court will not remove it from my record.
As such, my kids and I have been forced to live in an unhealthy home that has black mold, because we cannot find another place to live. The neighborhood is geographically isolated and socially deserted. The people here are so unfriendly that they go inside whenever we go out.
And this locale that my ex moved to is quite beautiful, and it had low Covid numbers. So now the housing has been bought up by people, and there is nowhere left to live. I am looking at dingy apartments for my kids and me that cost double what I am paying now.
I am not depressed.
I am demoralized by life.
Every day (almost) I read my Bible. I need to. I need God. I have been clinging to Him for dear life.
I don't understand what He's doing in my life.
I need Him to guide me through this storm.
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