will demonstrate that the abused, misused, and broken can rise up out of the affliction, pain, and bitterness to live a functional life so that the generational curse/cycle of abuse can be and will be broken. I also expect the message of this book to jolt every stagnant muscle in the bodies of the victims in abusive relationships so that they will get up and save their lives and the lives of their children, and no longer be captives of the abuse! This book contains Visual Impact Pictures1 that depict more than words can describe. When I began to write this book, the song that best reflects the mood I was in was “Sitting here in Limbo,” written by Aaron Neville. I literally was in a state of limbo in my life. I was reflecting on the past and thinking about life as it was at that time. At that point in my life, I had just recovered from episodes of flashbacks of my traumatic experiences of witnessing violence as a child. During this time of flashbacks and recovery, I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The flashbacks caused me to enter into a deep depression. After coming out of the depression, I was in limbo, stuck, trying to figure out how to leave the past behind, live a functional life, and not carry any hate, anger, or bitterness into any other area of my life. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). That was when I decided I had been silent for too long and that something must be said about the effects of domestic violence on everyone surrounding the abuser and the victim. I realized that no longer should I or anyone else be ashamed and embarrassed, nor should any victim or witness of abuse suffer
with feelings of guilt. I will no longer silently suffer, be ashamed, or carry any guilt! As I completed this book, the song that helped me recover and move on was “I’m Trading My Sorrows,” written by Darrell Evans, and it’s lyrics proclaim, “I’m trading my sorrows, I’m trading my pain; I’m laying it down for the JOY of the LORD!” I made the decision to forgive. I made the decision to let the past be the past and to move on. I made the decision to accept my emotional healing as I read Scripture, which showed me that healing was available through the Lord. Those steps for me were healing, and they allowed me to grow closer to the Lord. Everywhere I researched in the Bible for scriptures on healing, I found that healing had something to do with me forgiving others. I not only wanted to be healed emotionally, but I also wanted to prosper and move into the land of abundance. The Bible showed me examples of people who were stuck in limbo, but once those people made the decision to step out in faith (to move forward), and once they began to be obedient to the Lord, they did in fact begin to prosper. One such biblical example was when the Hebrew people were stuck wandering around the mountain, going monotonously in circles (in limbo) for forty years before they finally decided to move into the land of abundance, the Promise Land, which was already theirs based on what God had promised them. “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace [forgiveness] and glory [joy, peace, and a functional life]: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).