MK forum

Hurt-n-Hopeful, thanks for sharing and being so transparent. You are courageous. I'm praying for you and your family.

Thanks for sharing Hurt-N-Hopeful for sharing. You are truly a hero to us and I am sure to your children. You inspired me. God bless!

Above the clouds, the sun is always shining.

Hey, guys, I´m still with all of you, even though I seemed to have "suddenly" disappeared, am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel of life´s busyness at this moment (and before it looked like it was an oncoming train). I almost daily pray for all of this, I know there isn´t a week that goes by without remembering and in that moment asking for God´s grace, mercy and working in all of this, with JUSTICE! I really want to be back and look through all the posts, for the longest time I saved the links that told me someone was talking, for when I had a chance to get back in. I also have to admit there was serious depression going on for awhile, at least I believe that´s what it was (unless it´s normal to wake up in the morning feeling like you wish a plane from the nearby airport would suddenly take off, passengerless and pilotless and crash into your bed, instantly eliminated that little spark of life in you, or to wish lightening WOULD suddenly strike you from heaven, or think, "you know what, I´m going to cash this all in (and come out in debt, of course), and just head back to some tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, US, and work at a cash register the rest of my life, with the Unabomber as my neighbor) - and here´s a excerpt from a song that I think God sent my way, from "So Elated", called "Zechariah and the Least Expected Places":

God keeps slipping out from underneath rocks in allies off the beaten path - open both our eyes.

I want to have eyes wide open for what God wants me to see and fight for, but also eyes to see where he´s present.

That was the crack of dawn that brought daylight back into my life.

For those of you struggling with how/if/when God even exists or cares, please don´t take the above as any kind of preaching.

abração, love you all, até logo - já volto (time is a relative concept, let me remind you)

Sunshine!

Glad you're back.

This brought back lots of memories about Grandpa Taylor's accident years ago. So sad!!

Loved this blog--

http://communicatingacrossboundariesblo ... g-witness/

Bearing Witness
09 Wednesday Jan 2013
Posted by Marilyn in Pain, Stories, Women


I’ve done a lot of thinking about surviving these past weeks. The blind rage I have felt for victims who haven’t survived, the incredible respect I have for those that survive and enter into healing – they have occupied my mind, my heart.

And though I have never been raped or attacked, though I can’t begin to understand that deep agony of body and soul – I have learned one thing. When we bear witness to the stories of those who have experienced the wounds of rape and violence, we help in the healing process.

Conversely, when we dismiss them, we become part of the attack, part of the abuse.

When we hear people’s stories, when we are present through listening to events in their lives, we are bearing witness. Bearing witness to the moment that changed their lives. Bearing witness to why they have pain. Bearing witness to the deep struggles of the soul that come out in stories, not in facts.

Bearing witness means that we are showing by our existence that something is true. To listen to the survivor of rape and abuse without judgment but with love is saying to them – “I believe that this happened. I believe that you bear the cost”. To listen to the refugee with their story of losing home, family members, walking miles to safety, finally arriving at a crowded, disease-ridden camp is to validate their experience.

Bearing witness is more than just hearing the stories. It’s entering into stories. Entering in with body and soul. Entering in with empathy and kindness. It’s entering in, and in our entering offering hope and healing.

Bearing witness is a good phrase.

Whose story will you bear witness to this day? To a friend who has tried a hundred times to tell you of their pain, but you have dismissed them? To your child who longs to communicate something about who they are, but is afraid to tell you? To an old woman who once lit up a room with her dance step and her smile? To a paralyzed young man who is dismissed, ignored because he sits in a wheelchair? To an angry coworker?

Who has walked beside you as a witness to your stories, so that you can move forward with purpose and hope?

Heaven forbid that one should even seem ungrateful to have a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. But my friend go further if you can.
Advocate for the voices you cannot hear. Chase the perpetrators of these crimes on their behalf and expose those who hide them. Go into places of worship and wake up the complacent, for it is there that paedophiles find sanctuary. Demand law changes that will protect future generations and make those who have done evil accountable.
For what you hear is but the wind blowing cold from the tip of the iceberg. Much of the iceberg cannot be seen, for it lies below in a dark sea of guilt, shame and hurt.

Great posts. Thank you! I love that blog post, Allbetter!

Hi friends! Loved Ones! Inspired Lurkers! Glad you guys are still out there--I'm stuck in a 2 week spell of overwork

Know you all have been there--dishes undone, eating crappy food, not returning phone calls, exercise is a joke . . . But I got to hold a little girl last night, and rock her, and make her feel better . . .

I hope that somehow, knowing that we check in here, and listen, and hear . . .is helping. Lurking in my mind are a few ideas that will come out when my brain gets unfuzzed. Meanwhile, thank you for being here for me . . .