Let me start this post by saying, yes, I know this is my second post in one day. I decided that this time around, instead of trying to force myself to post on a schedule, I would post when and what I feel called to post. It keeps things more genuine, exciting, and interesting that way. I also want to say that as I journey through the Bible and grow closer to God, you will probably get a lot more posts like this. My inspiration for restarting this blog is that exact reason – share my testimony as I go through my own journey with Jesus.

Anyways, we, or I, at least, often think of the story of Joseph in the Bible as just a kids’ story. However, it is actually one of my favorite Bible stories. At first it was because it was one of the first ones I learned. Plus, you know how we do, we start the Bible in A Year Challenge, make it as far as this story, and then quit. But in my many attempts at that, I’ve come to realize that this story is actually very applicable to me as a sexual abuse survivor.

To sum the story of Joseph up very briefly, he was sold into slavery by his brothers. Then he was placed into a position of power but later arrested for false accusations. His story didn’t end there, though. Joseph stayed faithful and was later redeemed and came into a position that allowed him to not only save Egypt, but also his brothers – the very people that hurt him in the first place.

I want to clarify that I don’t use this story to say that we should go back to and try to save our abusers or anything like that. I love this story, though, because it is a story of redemption. To paraphrase, Genesis 50:20 says something along the lines of “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Often times, we as abuse survivors, are betrayed by the people closest to us; the ones we love the most. That was the case with me, and that’s why I love this story so much.

This weekend has been a struggle for me. I’ve had a hard time looking back instead of forward. But I thank God he uses our hurt, our betrayal, for something good and beautiful.