I was reading over my post on Facebook and one person commented stating that she knows it ain’t pretty because she is currently going through this and she was ready to give up and commit suicide.  I want to encourage her as well others who are feeling that once you deal with any type of sexual assault, you never get passed it.  This is a BIG FAT LIE!  YOU CAN LIVE AGAIN!!!  I know this from experience!  I have been there and felt like the only solution was to commit suicide, but God always helped me get through each stage of the battle.  Don’t get me wrong, you will never erase what you have experienced as with any other trauma in your life, but you can be restored from what was taken from you.  September 18, 1999, will always be a date I will remember, but now it I am not crippled by that date, I don’t have to take off from work for fear of having a breakdown on September 18th, nor do I have to find things to preoccupy my mind so that I don’t think about what happened on that date.  It is now just another day of the year for me.  It was a process of healing that was worth going through.  I would not be here today if I hadn’t been saved time and time again from thinking death would end it all.

The way you feel after you have gone through this traumatic ordeal can become painless with time, counseling, and faith.  I know that the more I spoke about it, the more I was able to free myself from it having power over me.  It was a healing process that allowed me to get out of bed each morning, stop hiding due to fear, and gave me the strength to live my life on purpose.  I realized that I was able to survive my sexual assault to give others hope and tell my testimony.  I just truly and sincerely pray that you too will gain encouragement and hope from this.  Just know that you are not alone in this battle.  PLEASE DON’T GIVE UP!!! SUICIDE IS A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO A TEMPORARY PROBLEM!!!