I’m 77... The Most “Religious” People Hurt Me the Most (Brutal Truth)

Описание: At 77 years old, I can finally say this without fear: the most “religious” people in my life hurt me the most.

I was raised in a house where God felt like surveillance. Where laughter felt dangerous. Where obedience mattered more than joy. I married young — a pastor’s son, full of certainty — and mistook control for faith. My questions became rebellion. My doubts became sin. My loneliness became proof that I was spiritually broken.

For years, I tried harder. Prayed harder. Submitted more. I thought if I became small enough, quiet enough, good enough, I would finally be loved.

Instead, I disappeared.

The deepest wound wasn’t the sermons. It wasn’t the discipline. It wasn’t even the public condemnation when my marriage collapsed. It was the way love’s language was used to control me. The way scripture became a hammer. The way community became a cage.

Leaving cost me everything — my marriage, my church, my parents’ approval, my identity. I walked out with my daughter and two suitcases. The silence that followed wasn’t peaceful. But it was real. And for the first time, it was mine.

Rebuilding took years. Learning to trust my own mind. Learning that kindness is not weakness. Learning that faith — if it exists — cannot require your erasure.

I found love again, much later, with a man who never once quoted a verse at me. He simply made coffee and held my hand when the old nightmares came. No performance. No checklist. Just presence.

Here’s the brutal truth:

Any love that asks you to disappear to earn it is not love.
It’s ownership.

If you are in a room where your spirit is shrinking in God’s name…
If your questions are treated like betrayal…
If your belonging depends on silence…

This story is for you.

🕊️ Question for you:
What part of yourself were you told was “wrong” — that might actually be your strength?

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#LearnedItLate #LifeLessons #Faith #Healing #Aging #SelfWorth #Wisdom