This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

"What is in Your Trunk?"

We are ALL Carrying stuff from our past or we are in DENIAL. Our Children are going to be carrying their on junk. We need to start looking and addressing the "Elephants" in the room

We All Got Baggage

Man talk about fighting on if I should write something about this? It really isn't so much about the baggage we all carry with us, because we all do. If you say you don't then, wow can you say “DENIAL?” I am coming out of the closet a little here.....this is some more person stuff that some folks would not want to hear, some folks would not want you to read and some folks might and try and some how use this against me....

But we need to talk.

At some point, it is like the “Elephant” in the room that we all have tried to talk around.....but I got tired of talking around it and so I wanted to talk about it, address it, look at it as it truly was, as it truly is! 

Find out what's happening in Snellvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As I continue to read about and hear about all the stuff that is being brought up about a college and all the finger pointing, the reports of abuse, made me feel I needed to write a few things. I hope as you read you will see how I can say what I say. You will see where all this stuff we are hearing about is coming from, or maybe part of the cause and and the real answers are!

These are some of the “Elephants” in my room

Find out what's happening in Snellvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

1. Anger

I believe part was the way I was raised.....not saying anything bad about that, I am grateful for my parents! But the way I was raised, was a product of the way my parents were raised. My parents loved me probably better than the way they were taught to love. However in our house, NO ONE disrespect my dad. I saw anger, physical and verbal stuff....today it would be consider abuse, and you DID NOT do anything that would disrespect “His wife”. I remember I got caught skipping school and mom went to smack me and I just caught her hand and stopped her, wow when dad heard about it, he went to hit me and asked me if I wanted to try and stop him, however some folks would view spankings as abusive too. So there is where some of my anger came from. Advents of my childhood. Anger became a coping skill.

2. No Self Respect, No Self worth

I had to admit and come out of DENIAL and come to terms of my childhood. Here is a very touchy area for some folks. I was touched inappropriately, I was molested, it was beyond kid experimenting. It was being forced to do things and to see things and be involved in things that a child should never be around or subject too, somethings an Adult should never be involved. This started when I was 7 years old and lasted until I was 10 or a little. Here is what I got out of that....

No self respect!

So it was OK for me to not respect myself, but it was not OK for you to be disrespectful to me, make sense? I carried this with me until I was 38 years old when I came out of the denial and got help pulling that out of baggage! I did things that was very clear I had no Self respect and very little for others,

No self worth!

I had become to believe that the only purpose for me, was for others to abuse. I was a needy person looking for other needy folks to prey on. I would get my self worth from Alcohol, that worked for a while, I picked up smoking cigarette addiction at the age of 12.

I started smoking pot and that worked for a little while and then I moved to other drugs. I validate myself through relationships, if you liked me, I would feed off that; that would work for a while and then I would move on. Porn was something that you had to go get at the store and it also worked for a while......it is amazing the things we can get addicted too, or what our new "normals" have become. 

It is only through the Grace of Jesus Christ and Christ based Recovery Programs that I now have years of sobriety. It was the willingness of believing Jesus was and is who He says He is. It was that "Mustard Seed" faith. That works for me and works for all the folks that God has allowed into my path, I continue to see HIM showing off, because Jesus is in the Recovery Business Today!

There are a lot more stuff I could write about here, and I don't know how much of this might actually make it in to the blog. These issues just because we can't talk about them, does not mean they did not happen.........to you or to me, they are just as real! Just because we might not be hearing about them on Sunday mornings in our S.S. Class or the sermons, does not mean they don't exist, does it?

So there must not be any problems out there....

Look at what is being played out in the news. According to The National Sex Offender Public Web site (nsopw.gov) reported in 2009 that only 30 percent of cases are reported to authorities. That means more than two-thirds of abuse cases are not reported.

One of my favorite Scriptures in the Bible is Jeremiah 6:14 (TLB) says “You can’t heal a wound by saying it’s not there!” Other words I had to come out of the denial that it happened and become willing to turn it loose. Lots of Prayers, But where to send it?

Our hurts and habits and hang-ups, all our baggage is not about a religion.....a religion might work briefly....... a relationship with Jesus Christ works always! It was and continues to be a relationship with Jesus Christ that saved me and saves me. I believe HE existed and HE loves me and HE wanted to take all this away from me. I started to believe HE would turn all this around, not erase it, however take it and use it for HIS glory and HIS honor.....I believe HE promised that in Romans 8:28?

Folks the Elephant in the room is hurting our children! We, the people, the parents, the community, the Church have got to start to address these issues.....LOOK at all the more baggage it is causing....it's not going away, it's getting worse. This is creating more hurt people, but our children are growing up lost and hurting.......Hurt Lost People Hurt Lost People! Hurt People Hurt People!

Abuse of any kind is not from GOD. Its from satan! How do I know that? Well if whatever we are going through, whatever we are doing, if you can't see Jesus in it or doing it.......then it isn't from up above.

See I do talk about addictions......drugs, alcohol, porn, eating, gossip, smoking, anger, fear.....just a few, however I talk about life.....we are either in something, going into something, and/or coming out of something, right? Because as long as we are taking in air, we have junk in our trunk!

I just got tired of trying to fix all this junk myself. So I went back to the manufacturer of me and asked HIM for help. In those ares of forgiving the folks who hurt me? I had to become willing to forgive first and then Jesus showed me how. HE told me that stuff was still allowing those folks to have the power over me, just as if they were still doing it.

I had to believe HE really loved me. I had to believe that the Bible was HIS Word, the Word Of GOD. I had to believe in scripture like Matthew 11:28 where Jesus said "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” that meant me too, and especially you!

I found out Jesus Christ has value for me.....that is where I am getting my self worth from!

Jesus Christ is the Answer! HE is the Answer for all this stuff, we need to turn back to HIM.

These are my views and yours is always welcomed!

Please know this, Jesus does love you and HE cares so much about you and Longs to be in a relationship with you!

If you need help, just ask....HE is easy to be found. Your Church, Your Pastor are there....I am easy to find also.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?