“Social media sees me on a Caribbean island right now, drinking fruity drinks, floating in the ocean. While everyone was still waking up, I walked the beach. I was angry. I need more answers than that! Moments later, I found a beat-up dime floating in the ocean. I cried painful tears. ‘This is what I am doing to you.'”
‘You are on vacation again?’ I feel like a fake. They don’t see I want to be anywhere but here’: Woman receives ‘reminder’ of faith in moment of struggle, ‘I was broken in shambles’
‘You reached this point. There is no turning back. But are you kidding yourself?! Is this sustainable?’: Gay man marries ‘close friend,’ comes out to her years later, now happily lives in mixed-orientation marriage
“I knew my same sex attractions were not going away. I knew I was hurting myself. I knew I was hurting Aleesha and the kids. But it continued to be a secret. I never got caught. Until I came clean. I bawled. ‘So what now? Do you want me to leave?’ We were both sitting there crying, holding each other for dear life. I was surprised to hear, ‘No, never. You are my best friend. I need you to stay. We will figure it out.’ I expected to be kicked out. Yelled at. But none of that happened. I was shown love.”
‘His mom delivered another baby. She abandoned him at the hospital.’ It was a call we never expected.’: Woman adopts teen, his younger sibling born addicted to drugs, ‘Does this sound crazy? I think it does too’
“‘Have you been notified of that boy’s roommate at the group home?,’ he asked. ‘We have not,’ I replied. ‘Would you be willing to meet him?’ 3 months later, he was moving in with us hours before his first day of high school. We found out I was pregnant by surprise. ‘This is crazy. We can’t do this, right?’ We were going to have 2 babies and a teenager with PTSD. Less than a year ago, we had no kids.”
‘I can’t do this,’ I muttered to myself. I was only 22, unmarried. I didn’t want my boyfriend to feel trapped.’: Young mother doesn’t believe she’ll be ‘punished’ for ‘having a baby out of wedlock’
“I was terrified, ashamed. I cared too much about walking around with a large stomach and no ring on my finger. My boyfriend and I had only been dating a little over a year. I’d been indoctrinated with the belief that what was happening to me was a sin that would tarnish me for the rest of my life.”
‘I’m not scared to die, I’m scared to be forgotten. And I’m worried about you.’ I had no words, just tears.’: 28-year-old widow gets sign from husband in heaven, ‘I’m okay Mama Bear, I made it, I’m now pain free’
“He was slowly beginning to wake. I couldn’t wait to see his big brown eyes. I wasn’t expecting the first thing out of his mouth to be, ‘So, how did things go?’ I still hadn’t come up with the best way to tell him. I knew I wouldn’t be able to lie. The room once again was silent. ‘Kyle, I love you. We will get through this together.’”
‘Something is wrong. I’m scared, is everything okay?’ He told me to stop being so paranoid.’: Woman urges ‘trust your instincts,’ wishes she had before husband murdered
“My husband spent months telling me I was just hallucinating, that I was crazy. I’d run out to his car as he was leaving for work. Something felt very wrong. I later found out, I wasn’t crazy. Detectives shut the door after telling me of his death. I was humiliated I found out the truth the same night everyone else did.”
‘This is just my daycare. My mom is coming back for me.’ She never came.’: 22-year-old finally adopted by ‘forever family’ after years of trauma, abuse in foster homes
“The last time a police officer came to my house, he asked, ‘Do you want to go get a cookie?’ I was only 5, so that was a big deal. I didn’t understand why my biological mom was crying as we drove away. We picked up my sister at school, then waited at DHS to drive us to a foster home. All we had were the clothes on our backs, and even those were dirty. ‘I need a place to stay until I figure out where to go,’ I said.”
‘You’re getting snipped, right?!’ I told my husband, no more babies. He obliged! The doctor had an emergency.’: After harrowing NICU journey, preterm birth, mom excited for ‘freedom’ husband’s vasectomy would bring to their ‘intimacy’
“My husband told me without hesitation, he’d get a vasectomy. I thought, ‘Yeah sounds good, but we’ll see if he’s really down for the cause when that time comes.’ We prepared for snip snip day by getting him a bag of frozen peas and tight underwear. He was nervous, but ready. My OB knew of our plan, but kept asking, ‘Are you SURE?’”
‘I couldn’t ‘let the holy spirit take over.’ I questioned God. I believe more than just ‘my kind’ are making it into Heaven.’: Young man feels ‘hurt, anger’ at God after his mom’s death
“I wondered where my mom wound up. I was hurt, I felt anger but I don’t know if I was ever actually angry at God directly. I was angry at my situation. I wondered why I had lost my mom and my dad by 14.”
‘I’m too scared to go back,’ I told my mom. His voice paralyzed me. I lived in fear he’d kill my mother.’: 23-year-old adopted by stepfather who ‘never ceased to fight’ for her during childhood trauma with biological dad
“I lived in 2 different worlds. Five days a week I was in a picture-perfect home with a beautiful stay-at-home mom. But the remaining 2 days, I was in survival mode. I remember watching the clock tick by, counting down the time I had left in my safe haven before I’d have to get in the car and enter my second world. My biological dad had trained me well, so I kept his secrets. I’d stare at the window in my bedroom, hands on the frame, trying to build enough courage to slip out of it and run.”
