Read Angie's Thoughts

As I have struggled with hurts from my past in recent days, I have also witnessed dear friends of mine dealing with a heartbreaking situation in their own family and tonight I find myself profoundly sad about so many things - foster children being moved from safe homes with families that love them back to their parents who don't have their best interests in mind; children who have experienced abuse that leaves them paralyzed with shame; families who continue to fight and let their own selfish motives stand in the way even as a loved one has died tragically and suddenly; foster parents who give everything for those in their care and yet watch them make decisions that hurt everyone around them; young girls who, for whatever reason, feel so insecure that they write horrible things about others who have done them no harm; children who grow up without a parent and still feel that loss so profoundly as they live their lives as grownups. The pain in this life can be overwhelming at times ...

As I've had time to let my last blog, Forgiveness and Consequences, settle in and have turned the words over and over inside my heart and my mind, I've decided to add a couple of poems to shed more insight into this subject. The first is a poem I wrote shortly after I started praying a prayer of forgiveness towards my grandfather. The second two poems show the battle that often raged within me as Satan tried to persuade me to withhold my forgiveness in the months that followed that initial prayer.   Forgiving  The decision has been made, the prayer has been said, My mind was made up and on my knees, I bowed my head. As I talked to the Lord, with tears on my cheeks, I gave to Him what He had been asking for weeks. The burden too heavy, the pain just too great, I asked Him to take my hurt, my sadness and hate. The choice to forgive isn’t easy but I know it’s a must, God tells me it’s right and in His love I trust. He will deliver me from the hurt and the pa...

When I first began the healing journey almost 10 years ago, God gave me the amazing ability to write poetry as a way of getting my thoughts out. This is one of my favorites, and the first one I ever wrote. When I Was a Little Girl     When I was a little girl, I wanted to be loved. But you loved me in all the wrong ways and now I don't want to be loved anymore.   When I was a little girl, I wanted to be held. But you held me inappropriately and now I don't want to be held anymore.   When I was a little girl, I wanted to be needed. But you needed me for your perverse pleasures and now I don't want to be needed anymore.   When I was a little girl, I thought I was pretty. But you used me in ways that made me feel ugly and dirty and now I don't think I'm pretty anymore.   When I was a little girl, I wanted to be special. But your way of making feel special was to hurt me and now I don't want to be special anymore.   When I was a little girl, I wanted to get married ...