You are not alone...

By the title you may think that I'm going to tell you how God is always with you and even though that is absolutely true Its not what we are going to talk about today!

We all have secrets... some are more serious than others, but they each hold a tender place in the owners heart. I will go ahead and tell you this is not a post that you can keep your mask on for. You have to be honest with yourself. I'm shocked each time a girl shares one of her deepest secrets with me. There are some girls that you can look at and know that they are hiding something, but then there are others who seem to have everything together. Life is just all peachy and they have never had anything happen to them. Ive found that those are the ones that are normally hurting the most.... Are you one of those? You know if you are. If you are, when i asked that something specifically popped into your head. Don't let satan tell you, "Oh that little thing! That's nothing..,. she is talking about something big!". That's a lie. To someone else your secret may be small, but to you it is big and as far as God is concerned it is big.... it matters. Here are a few ideas of secrets. Yours may not be on here, but at the same time it may be...

*I hate my family
*I've been abused (Emotionally, physically, verbally, sexually, etc)
*I'm anexoric or bulimic
*I feel unloved at home
*My parents constantly argue/ are getting divorced
*I question my salvation
*Ive been raped/molested
*I feel fat
*I do drugs, smoke, or drink
*My boyfriend and I have gone to far
*I question how God could still love me after all Ive done
*I think I'm ugly
*Ive thought about suicide
*I'm addicted to porn
*I've had an abortion
*When it comes to Christianity I'm a hypocrite

These are just examples or things that Ive had girls tell me lately.... Are any of these yours? I may not have mentioned yours. You fill in the blank. Girls these are real issues... Now why am I making you think about this? I have some news that I want you to realize... YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Seeing that I want to go into counseling God has given me some awesome opportunities to talk to girls. Some share more than others, but here is the deal. We each have a past. If you don't then praise God! You are about one in a million. Satan wants you to think that you are all alone and that no one cares. That is the furthermost thing from the truth. I know personally that Ive had a few secrets of my own that NO one knew. People were shocked when they find out. I try to not sound surprised when girls tell me things, but they do such a great job of covering it up that no one even suspects that anything is wrong. Please do not get the wrong or have any preconceived ideas.... I'm not friends with all these girls from off the streets or anything like this.  Yes I have some friends who aren't in Church, but most of the girls I talk to are regular church members. Girls who act as if life is perfect. You are not the only one who has ever made the mistake you made or been taken advantage of the way you were. You're not.... I can promise you that.

So, now that you know you aren't alone what should you do? I do not advise you telling your secret to just anyone.... People who seem to be your best friend can easily turn their back on you. Choose someone you can for sure trust! You may have tried opening up to someone before and they just hurt you. Been there... but not everyone is like that. People care about you.....Satan doesn't want you to believe that though. Church leaders are great! If they don't know how to help you or you need help past just a listening ear they can get you the help you need. If you can, talk to your parents. I highly advise that one!! Talk to a school counselor. You know who you can talk to! Just like the secret... as soon as i mentioned talk to someone you had someone pop into your mind! Of course, just like everything else.... pray first! Seek God and see who HE would have you talk to! Then talk to that person! You may say, "I just need to get over it.", but the only way you can is by talking it out... you need to have someone that will just listen to you and by no means judge you.

We've talked about not being bound by sin, but this can be the same thing. Your secret can bind you and make you feel as if you, "Aren't normal" or that you do not have a choice, but to keep your mask on. People would think you were a freak if they knew the real you! Not at all babe... Are you going to let you secret hold you back from being who God created you to be any longer? I propose that you don't... :)

With more care than you can imagine,
JEN

P.S. There are some secrets that I mentioned above that need legal attention. I have a friend who is a professional counselor who will be writing a post about those issues soon!