Caroline McGraw: You never know when truth is going to find you. But you need to do your part; you must open your eyes.

There is a great blog out there that helps people, especially women deal with the messiness of life, some of which is a result of abuse in the Worldwide Church of God.

You never know when truth is going to find you. Truth sets you free, and that’s the best news there is. But you need to do your part; you must open your eyes. You need to look around your small cell and see Truth next to you, ever patient, holding the keys. 

Truth is not outside; it’s there in the cell with you, close as your own heart. The Eagles had it right: So oftentimes it happens / that we live our lives in chains / And we never even know we have the keys. 

Sweetheart, I just want to give you a heads up. Someday soon, you will find yourself writing an essay in which you describe your childhood church. You’ll want to link to a basic description of the organization, so you’ll do some research. By this time, you’ve Googled the church before, but words like “cult” and “abusive” made you look away. 

You don’t see how your positive experiences—summer camp, close friendships—could fit those descriptions. You don’t understand how the warm, loving people you knew could be categorized by a word as cold as cult. You will feel confused, to say the least. 

But in the midst of your confusion you will realize how well you’ve been trained to obey. You’ll see how a wall—subtle but strong—stands between you and free choices. Before, you didn’t recognize the bedrock of control beneath the good memories: Trust us, don’t trust yourself. Don’t question. If you want to wear a Halloween costume, you’re misguided. Halloween is the devil’s holiday. If you don’t fast and tithe, if you don’t believe that this is the ONE (and only) true church … then you’ve fallen astray. 

So this time, you’ll keep reading the words you find online. You’ll learn about spiritual abuse. You’ll visit a support network for former church members. The whole process will be akin to seeing a car crash. It will be awful, but for the life of you, you won’t be able to look away.

She encourages people to tell their stories and to write them down and share them.  That's part of the healing process for so many that share their stories and experiences here about life in Armstrongism.

Telling the truth about your life will be the best decision you’ve ever made, because it will help you to forgive others, and yourself.

She gives public speaking appearances and has written several books.  What I found particularly intriguing is her work with L'Arche.  One of my favorite writers that help in dumping fundamentalism and transitioning out of Armstrongism was Henri Nouwen.  He spent the last eleven years of his life working at L'Arche in France and Canada.

L’Arche, a faith-based non-profit wherein people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together, is Caroline’s training ground for forgiveness.

You can follow her blog here and contribute your story.

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