Can You Hear Me? Introduction

“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13

Dear Readers,

Over the past ten years since I began remembering being sexually abused and raped, I have come to realize many people do not understand how to help those of us who have had this trauma occur in our lives. People want to help, mean well, they simply need ideas, prompting in the right direction.

The letters I will be sharing over the next few months in the “Can You Hear Me” Section, are a compilation of letters written to people I have encountered over the past ten years. They are generic letters, although the people behind them are real. I was originally going to form them into a book, but that has changed. The letters have changed too.

They were extremely negative at first, and maybe still are to some degree. However, I feel the need to share them with you so you feel you are not alone in your feelings.

These letters could have been written by any sexual assault survivor. I am not the only one who has endured struggles when communicating or trying to gain help from medical professionals, counselors, therapists, friends, family, bosses, co-workers, and even our abusers.

I have written these as healing for myself, and as a voice for all of us. To also help those who work with or know someone who has been sexually assaulted. So please share this site with those you know. There are many people who affect our lives, and it is my prayer these letters shine a light on how they can help us.

I had to dig deep down within me to find the means necessary to communicate in these letters. To overcome the anger, resentment, hurt, fear, and lack of forgiveness. I had to become the survivor not the victim. Which is exactly what those of us who have made it through sexual assault are; we are survivors.

We are fighters. We have already endured the hardest part. We are overcomers. We beat the odds and survived. The road of recovery is hard, and on it we need support. For this reason, I write these letters. Thank you for reading them. I pray they resonate with you, and I pray others read them and realize how they can be supportive to us on this journey.

Do you have someone from the past or present you need to write a letter to? You don’t have to give them the letter, but it can be healing to write it. I wrote out a group of letters before I wrote the ones I’m sharing with you.

Those involved more intense feelings of anger and lack of forgiveness. It was healing to me to express these very human feelings. It is normal and okay to feel them. I encourage you to share your feelings on paper and let out these emotions.

Speaking from experience, it helps with the healing. If no one else reads them but you, know God is listening. “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13

Blessings,

Susan

Next week: A letter to my former boss.

Pick up a copy of Restoring the Soul Journal: For Encouragement and Hope at Amazon.com to write your own letters.

© 2018 Susan M. Clabaugh. All Rights Reserved.