Introduction to This Blog

If somehow you've found this blog site, let us welcome you. Welcome, and come, be safe here.

We are broken people. We admit that we are not sinless. And yet, we are people who have been broken even further by the sins of others, in particular, individuals or groups of individuals whom we loved and trusted.

We are the abused and molested children. We are the wives of destructive marriages. We are the devoted and used up friends of narcissists. We are the overpowered in the legalistic and patriarchal church movement--those who desperately needed grace but got further victimization, strong-arming, and law instead of mercy. We are orphans and widows by circumstance.

And we are seeking healing and wholeness and love in an all-too-often loveless world.

If you have a story to tell, you may send it to shadowingabigail@gmail.com. All submissions will be read. If your story seems to be one that others may benefit from, we may choose to publish it here.

Guidelines for submission:

1) Above all else, we are committed to truth telling. The truth will set us free.
The truth is not always beautiful in and of itself, but it is the path to freedom. Not all stories are lovely and emotionally positive. Not all stories have yet reached a conclusion. We believe that God is at work in all things, and that he does indeed work even our worst nightmares for good in the end. But at present, we may not be at all aware of how our story will end. We are in the dark, but we are still committed to telling the truth in the darkness. All submissions to this blog should be earnestly considered in every detail: Is it the truth? If there is any doubt, please do not submit your story for consideration.

2) The purpose of this blog is healing, not damaging others.
Though we have been wounded by others, it is not our intention to seek revenge or to inflict return harm on those who have harmed us. Therefore, even as we tell our stories, it is important that we must be careful to never slander or expose another person's wrongdoing specifically so as to harm that other person. Yes, if that person was in sin, he or she should be confronted and held accountable for it, but this is not the place to do that. That should be done in private, possibly face to face if it is safe to do so, and with the support of other appropriate members of your community, not excluding law enforcement if necessary. Therefore, those submitting stories may wish to use only their first names, nicknames, or Internet user id names. No full names will be published with submissions. Additionally, full names of individuals in story submissions will not be published. Use careful discretion please, and remember to do to others as you would have them to do to you, and to love your enemies as you love yourselves.

3) Write with respect and dignity.
Language matters. Many of us have been hurt by words. Please be careful to use only respectful and dignified word choices in your writing. Language that profanes the Deity will not be printed or allowed in the comments. Other language that can be considered obscene or derogatory may be censored for the sake of limiting its trigger effect on others.

4) Remember grace.
The God of grace did not turn his back on his rebellious creation. Instead, he humbled himself, set aside his own glory by choice, and entered in to suffer alongside his beloved people. By living a perfect life and giving that life freely at the hands of sinners he came to buy back from their own self-destruction, he gave perfect evidence of his choice to love eternally all who call on his name to be saved. He now looks upon his people with complete favor, and nothing can separate his beloved from him, now or ever. It is in the context of the knowledge of that saving, unmerited grace, that we offer up our wounds for healing, and that we offer our stories to one another. Therefore, we commit here on this site to offer gentleness, optimism, kindness, respect, and dignity to one another, even at times when we find ourselves in disagreement. Though we encourage discussion, we are not here to chastise one another, to offer easy platitudes, to downplay one another's pain or try to fix or dismiss it, and most certainly not to judge or place blame on the victims, regardless of the life choices that may have contributed (or may not have contributed) to the injury experienced. We are here to build up, to strengthen one another, and to encourage toward an eternal healing in keeping with the grace bestowed on the world by God through Jesus Christ. 

5) Guidelines for participating in this blog may change over time. Recurring issues will inevitably have to be addressed, and we will do so as needed.