Dear Pastor,

I want to commend these young ladies and children who are not afraid to come forward and report to the police when someone rapes or take advantage of them. I was six years old the first time I can remember being raped. I was raped repeatedly by numerous men for years. I was afraid to tell anyone about what was going on. They made threats about hurting my family or killing me if I told. So I kept it to myself.

I left Jamaica when I was 12 years old and migrated to America. I thought I had left all that behind me. Within a year of coming to America, my stepfather tried to rape me. Around that same time I got the chance I needed to leave and went to live with my grandmother and aunts. It wasn't long after that a man living in the apartment building started following me. Then it started happening again. I often wonder if I was wearing a sign that said 'pick on me'. I wasn't dressing or talking in anyway to be noticed. So, why me? I didn't tell anyone because I thought I was the cause of it.

I would recommend to anyone who is going through anything like this to get help. It took me years before I told anyone what I've been through and I wish every day that I had said something before, no matter what would have happened. I am afraid of starting new relationships. I was with a man for ten years. We were married for four of those years, with three children. He was no good but I found it hard to leave him. We are now divorced and I relocated with the kids. How can someone who has been through so much live a normal life? Please pray for me.

F. C., Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Dear F. C.,

I suggest that you begin to deal with these issues. It is not too late to do so. You have had a most difficult upbringing. You have been used and abused and you have found it very difficult to relate to men and it is going to continue to be so for many years to come if you do not undergo therapy. You are likely to be haunted by your past until God helps you to put it behind you and move forward. God's grace and mercy can do it but you need professional help. You need to speak to Christian counsellor or psychologist.

My prayers are with you. Read your Bible, pray every day and go to church as often as possible.

Pastor