Edited, where ‘xxxxxx’ is inserted, to comply with a Court Order
I am.
I am a man.
I am a man who is still standing.
I am a man abused.
xxxxxx
I am a man who was abused first by the church.
That’s not uncommon, but sinfully common.
xxxxx
I am a man who is still standing, but standing in the face of what has been done to me, I am standing only by the Grace of God.
I am a man.
I am.
Last night we sat and watched Antwone Fischer, the movie, by Antwone Fischer, a true story about living with abuse as a man.
It was painful to watch, and see another man survive, be given opportunity to tell his story, and to work to heal.
This is not offered and possible for many men xxxxxx.
Perhaps it is more palatable for our culture to see a man deal with abuse suffered as a child, to watch him adapt, survive, grow and flourish as he comes into adulthood, with his whole adult life ahead of him.
xxxxxx
It’s pretty painful no matter how you cut it,
Painful to know if we switch just the genders around in true stories of men xxxxxx, the outcry of shock and dismay is almost without limit; but when the story is told with the genders as they are, xxxxxx, there is no outcry, just a concerted effort to make the man pay, with his honor, xxxxxx, with everything that can be taken from him.
And he is fair game for any lie that can be told, any attack that can be posted to social media.
Tonight we sat and watched Antwon Fischer, by Antwon Fischer, a true story about living with abuse as a man.
And I cried to know that someone else suffered …
Fought through,
Survived,
Flourished
And found someone who would believe him
Someone who kept him from being destroyed.
For all the men who are still standing:
May the Blessings of Christmas
(Of unconditional love, of scapegoating ended, of the promise of wholeness) and
May the Promise of the New Year
(of prosperity, truth, justice, grace, and hope)
Be yours.