Meet Barbara

While shooting hoops with my grandson at the Ocoee, Florida YMCA, I met Barbara, 50-year-old mother of one of the young men with whom I was playing a game of “horse.” Somehow the topic of my blog came up (can you imagine that?) and she said, “I’ve certainly had loss in my childhood – sexual, physical and emotional abuse from my father.”

Barbara went on to describe the results. “I became a man-hater, controlled by volcanic anger with a sarcastic mouth. As a 31-year-old I met Jesus and change began. Attitudes began changing and I even worked things out with my dad on his death bed. I’m now free from the bondage.”
The value of the abuse – the ultimate result: “I understand people better. If it feels like someone is attacking me I translate that to a probability of a result of their own childhood trauma. I have a great love for kids and desire to see them grow to become responsible people. I’m a wiser, better parent to my children. I’ve been propelled to dig into Scripture for God’s wisdom. I’ve learned that people treat you how you expect them to. If you get disrespect, you’re projecting it, expecting it. The abuse helped me become a stronger person.”

By the way, the kid couldn’t take down this ol’ man in “horse!”