I have grown up as a Christian in a strong, loving, Christian family. I am currently in my 20’s and am single. Being a single woman who is pursing Christ, calls me to pursue a certain lifestyle of sexual purity. While I have fallen short of pursing that righteousness a handful of times throughout my life, that is something that I am truly seeking. I sought to live my life in a way that honors Christ and honors my future husband and protects our future marriage.

A couple of months ago, I was sexually assaulted by a stranger when I was out with some friends in a different city. It was shocking and awful and I never thought that would ever be a part of my story. I am now among the ranks of women who are victims, survivors. I am now one of the statistics you see on posters and ad campaigns and there is a weight and shame that I carry along with a very deep wound. Among all of that it felt like a slap in the face to my attempts of pursing righteousness and purity. I was heavy and weighted with the words of the enemy saying that I was filthy, awful, broken, marked. While this was the heaviest, I felt lead to come to a Saturday evening service. I had a particularly busy weekend that weekend and wasn’t planning on coming to church but the prompting was loud and so I changed my plans and came to the Saturday evening service at Cascade Campus.

Jeff preached on a verse from Acts: “Do not call anything impure that which God has made clean”.

These words pierced through the cloud of lies that had been fogging my mind. Yes, something awful happened to me and I have a long journey of healing ahead of me, but I am still a child of the risen Lord. It is because of that blessed truth that I must not call myself impure or dirty because of what happened because God has already made me clean.

I am seeking reconciliation with myself and that mystery of a man. I don’t know who he is and I probably never will, but I believe that God’s ability and promise to cleanse extends to him as well no matter how wrong that may feel sometimes. I pray that he finds the same peace that I have.

If reading this story evokes something in your own story, please contact care@adabible.org

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