Strength in Numbers

I had the privilege to attend an Iowa Huddle meeting. Here is the link to their Facebook Group. This turned out to be more of a blessing than I could have imagined. I met several people that increased my confidence and knowledge. Thomas Dunn, of Through the Black spoke, and I learned much about the fight against Ritual Abuse. I bonded with several people. James was just one of these people, but he and I have similar backgrounds.

James later came for a visit to my home. He had been abused just miles from where I now live. Jeremiah and I went with him and visited the place where he was abused. James gave his video testimony while on the site. That is a hard thing to do. It was a day full of meaning.  Before we left, we prayed that God would restore the Land.  

Getting to the point where I could talk about my experiences was not easy. Sharing with others can be terrifying. But God led me through this process, and It has gone better than I could have imagined.

Here are some things that I learned:

• Make sure that you can speak with confidence before you share with others.

In the beginning of my healing process, I found It helpful to keep what I was remembering to myself. This kept me from having to deal with the way most people dismiss claims of ritual abuse as lunacy. For quite some time I did not know what it was that I was remembering. It was important that I got my footing, first.  I had all of heaven with me and we did a good job on our own.  But as time past and I learned to let God place me in a secure place I began to share my story. At that point, bonding with other survivors catapulted my healing process.

• We have strength in numbers.

If one or even two people run into a building saying that there is a purple elephant outside, No one is going to bother to go see. However, if three or four people do the same thing, people are going to make some effort to find out for themselves if it is true.  We now have strength in numbers. With so many survivors coming forth in recent years ritual abuse is no longer a conspiracy theory. Now is the time for people to start speaking out.  

• Survivors validate each other’s stories.   

Often, they confirm each other’s stories. Many of the most bizarre events that I was facing were describe by other survivors.  It is a strange type of satisfaction that we find when we hear other survivors talk about going through the same painful events.