October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October has been designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time set aside to help educate the public on this terrible epidemic that destroys our homes from the inside out. The place that God meant to be safe and peaceful, is often a battlefield of verbal and physical abuse. The home becomes a living hell and often those who reside there would rather go anywhere but home. I know because I lived in such a home as a child and an adult. Today through God's grace and mercy I am no longer a VICTIM, I am a SURVIVOR. It has been a long and often painful road to recovery, but it has been worth it, as today I am through the Holy Spirit helping to lead other Victims down that road to becoming a Survivors. I want to share some statistics with you t from Law Enforcement and the National Domestic Violence Counsel. 78% of the prison population were abused as children 96% of all prostitutes were victims of child sexual abuse 80% of runaways cite child abuse as the major reason they run Over 55% of all female drug addicts were sexually abused as children More than 2,000 infants and young children die from abuse each year Every 4 seconds a child is abused Every 7 minutes a child is killed from abuse Every 3 minutes a woman is killed by violence A woman is beaten every 9 seconds in the U.S. Domestic violence is the most under-reported crime in the country On average, 4 women are murdered every day by their male partner in the U.S. Women in the U.S. are in 9 times more danger in their own homes that they are in the street One in three women will be abused by a male partner during their lifetime. Domestic/Family Violence is tearing the very fabric of our homes apart. I have been counseling in my local community for 8 years, we are seeing more violence from family members other than the male/female relationships. Mother/Daughter, Grandparents/Grandchildren, Sisters/Sisters, any and all combination of family members are at odds with each other that escalates to the point that law enforcement is called and often entails a trip to the hospital. Domestic Violence happens to all, it has no boundary of race or economics. The churched and the unchurched, the answer is we all need a revelation of WHO Jesus is and what He can do in our life IF we will let Him. Until next time,"Keep Your Eyes On Jesus, He Has ALL The Answers !!"