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I was raised in a broken home. It was not divorce that broke the home, but the fact that my dad was an alcoholic and abusive.
Although my mom was a Christian, my dad was an atheist. Being the youngest and the only boy out of five children, I caught the worst of dad’s abuse. By the time I was twelve, the abuse had escalated, from verbal, mental, and emotional abuse to physical abuse, including sexual abuse. What made it even worse was knowing I could not tell anyone.
I did, however, eventually, break my silence. I tried telling several preachers, but they accused me of lying. This pattern repeated itself for nearly twenty years. Then while in a drug/alcohol rehabilitation treatment program in prison, I began coming into daily contact with some Catholics—prisoners, volunteers, and a priest. They told me over and over that I was not to blame for any of the abuse and that God did not condemn me. Rather, Jesus wanted…
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Richard Maximilian Jude,
God works in mysterious ways. The fact that you will use the pain and suffering of your life to help those who have suffered similar experiences is truly turning the sins committed against you into blessings you will bestow on others in need. God Speed