This article is published on Christian Feminism Today and is a part of what I spoke about on the Talking Taboo Panel.

Here’s a teaser and link:

“I’ve always loved science—chemistry, neurobiology, astronomy; experiments to test hypotheses; and the constant expansion of scientific fields, bringing new discoveries and innovative perspectives that signal endless possibilities in a world that seems chaotic. In the midst of the chaos and disappointment, science presents an exploratory symbol of potential.

Chemistry shows that substances can change from one thing to become another, even when it seems most unlikely.  One of the most basic examples occurs when sodium (a substance on its own) combines with chlorine gas (which happens to be poisonous).  Almost like magic, it becomes traditional table salt. It is amazing. Something toxic like chlorine gas can become something so safe that we eat it on our chips!

I propose that anger is our “chlorine gas”— just waiting to become table salt.

Why abuse causes so much pain

I was violated in ways people would never want to hear about, let alone experience. First I was violated physically, emotionally, and sexually by my intimate partner, and then I was soul-raped by the church. The pain of the injustice in both cases was unbearable. I blamed myself, but at the same time, I knew it wasn’t my fault. People whom I had trusted let me down, my body had been desecrated, I felt as though my interior spark of life was vandalized, and I sensed that my ability to think clearly had been incapacitated.  It made me mad.  Really mad.

In my resilience and my determination to thrive, I reached out to an old mentor of mine. I basically knew him my entire life and I trusted him with my broken body, mind, and spirit.  I dumped all the pain, all the memories, all the anger out in emails. He always wrote back so encouragingly, and he listened.

Until he didn’t.”

To see more click on the link below:

Transformative Anger