Physical & Emotional Abuse Support Group
Abuse is a general term for the treatment of someone that causes some kind of harm (to the abused person, to the abusers themselves, or to someone else) that is unlawful or wrongful. No one deserves abuse, period. Abuse can be emotional, physical, or sexual.
I was reading Jeremiah 3 today. It's the only time the word divorce shows up in the KJV, and it's God explaining to the Israelites why He divorced them. A few verses later, He says this:
Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
How I relate to this feeling.
"I don't WANT things to be like this! I want to forgive, and have mercy, and love you! All I ask is that you acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against me - that is, that you admit what you've done, that you've hurt me! PLEASE! Turn your back on your foolish and destructive ways, so we can be together without me being less of who I am, without me having to lower boundaries and accept things which are harmful to me!"
I think it's nice to hear that God really understands this, the reality of separation, hard hearts, abuse, and the desire to reconcile.
Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
How I relate to this feeling.
"I don't WANT things to be like this! I want to forgive, and have mercy, and love you! All I ask is that you acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against me - that is, that you admit what you've done, that you've hurt me! PLEASE! Turn your back on your foolish and destructive ways, so we can be together without me being less of who I am, without me having to lower boundaries and accept things which are harmful to me!"
I think it's nice to hear that God really understands this, the reality of separation, hard hearts, abuse, and the desire to reconcile.
They say that 'sorry' is the hardest word to say... nope. In my experience of certain people, the words I never heard with any real meaning are:
"I am/was wrong."
"I shouldn't have done that."
"I accept and apologise for the fact that my behaviour hurt you/that I hurt you."
All of the above with NO BUTS in sight. That's all I wanted. xx