I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3 NIV
Imagine Maria swimming in the sea of life, living her life day by day. When she entered a relationship, there were stones that stuck to her body. These stones made her sink more and more.
One stone: She believed in the romantic love of movies and stories because it was what she had been taught and he offered it to her.
Another stone that stuck to her body was, that little by little she was becoming isolated, leaving family relationships, friends and she became more dependent emotionally on him because he demanded it.
She lost control of her life, her self-esteem was very low, and thus one stone after another was weighing down her body more and more and sinking in the sea of life.
She felt guilty and manipulated about almost everything. She constantly felt sadness, fear, guilt, obligation, shame…
Misinterpreted Bible verses told her that she had to put with being treated badly because this was what God expected of her.
And so, stone after stone… Maria was practically completely inundated, she could barely breathe, but…
There is good news…., YES! There is hope for all the Marias of the world, that it is possible to get out of abuse with help.
So, little by little, Maria began taking off the stones that were drowning her, she began to realize that something was not working well in their relationship, that perhaps that was not love after all….
With difficulty, she removed another stone, when she talked with a friend, with a relative, with someone she trusted, who encouraged her to seek help from a professional, and thus she gradually came out of her isolation.
She began to gain self-esteem and regain control of her life. She learned to differentiate when she was or was not at fault for her actions and not to accept blame that was intended to manipulated her.
She was learning to live in different way, and this made her feel better. As she detached the stones from her body, she began floating and feeling freer.
She remembered that she was a Temple of the Holy Spirit, a daughter of God and that no one should harm her, because abuse is not pleasing in the eyes of God and he does not ask us to bear it.
So, Maria, with time, with help, removed all the stones that had practically drowned her and she was able to swim again and continue in the sea of life…
©ISHA