I Feel Like I've Been Raped Again

I am a pastor, a wife, a daughter, and a survivor of sexual assault. All day long, I have felt this visceral pain, strong enough to take my breath away, a sorrow unlike any since my assault, a sadness bordering on suicidal, a deep, dark disappointment in the people I serve every day. The bile has risen in my throat. I screamed as loud as I could at a truck carrying huge Trump and Confederate flags, for in this part of the country, the two go together. Why this rage, I wondered. Why these tears and deep pains in my body? And then it hit me — I feel like I've been raped again. How many other women and men share this particular kind of pain this night? What will give us relief or hope?