The Only Bra that Works - The Christian Bra!

It was recently said to me, "I hope you have a strong Christian support group to turn to." I found it rather offensive (no offense to the person who said it) that the word "Christian" had to be thrown in this statement.

When I was 12, I was almost raped. My parents intervened, and told me flat out that I must have been acting like a whore for this to have happened. My parents were good Christian, church-going folk. A few years later, I was almost raped in a seldom-used hallway in my high school. My God-fearing guidance counselor told me "it takes two to tango" when I reported the event. So, the summer before I turned 17, when I was raped in the park by a "friend" of mine (also a good church-going Christian, might I add), I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to be blamed yet again.

Now then, let me back up just a little... around the time when I was 14 or so, I had turned my parents in for child abuse (a whole other story which you can find snippets of in my blog) to my pastor. He told me I must honor my father and my mother... and then proceeded to tell them the "lies" I had told him, which ended up with me nearly being hospitalized. Obviously, this was not a place to go when help was needed. After I was raped, I felt like I had no one I could trust who would actually believe me and give me the comfort and support I needed.

Fast forward a bit... the fall after I was raped, I still still only 16 at the time, but I started college (full time college for high school credit). I never stepped foot in the high school again other than necessary conversations with my guidance counselor, and occasional meetings with another counselor whom was more friend to me than anything else. Instead, I got wrapped up in college life. The friends I made - some were very devout Christians, some were atheists, one particularly wonderful young lady was Islam, and many just didn't know what they were. They were still trying to figure that out.

But each one - regardless of race, color, creed, religion, etc - each one of them gave me more support and love than I had ever thought I deserved. Of course, by this time, I was pretty broken and thought myself beyond any form of redemption... but they still tried. They held me when I cried. They loved me when I intentionally cut myself. They dropped everything they were doing to help me through one of my suicide attempts. They risked repercussions by hiding me in their dorm rooms when I ran away from home.

This wasn't a Christian support group. This was an incredibly comforting and supportive group of friends. It didn't matter if they were Christian. It didn't matter if they spoke of Jesus or Allah or the fates. And, this was the wonderful thing about this group - no one hid their beliefs. No one pushed their beliefs on the others... and no one felt they had to hide what they did believe. No one feared judgement or felt a need to pass judgement. They held each others hand when needed, and gave them that friendly smack upside the head when that's what was needed.

I guess my point to this whole little tale... you don't need a Christian support group to get through life's problems. In my opinion, you do need Christ... but your friends do not need to be Christian. I just pray anyone who is experiencing or has experienced any tragedy - abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), rape, suicidal thoughts, depression, mental/emotional/personality disorders, the death of a loved one, etc. - I pray you have a Support Group. I pray you have friends who will lift you up and carry you when you need it. It doesn't matter if these people believe in God, Allah, or the dust mites under their bed... just so long as they believe that you deserve love and are willing to show that love to you.

God bless each of you!