The Lie I Overcame

Today I want to introduce you to something special.
Something that I believe every woman can benefit from.
It's a movement called Overcome The Lie.
It is about overcoming all the lies we face.
There are so many in this world that can cause much heartache and pain.
We all face them, but there is hope!
That's where this movement comes in...
A movement of women who are speaking His truth!
We can overcome the lies because Jesus overcame the grave!
He never intended for us to believe the lies,
But instead to believe in Him and His truths!

I believe it is important to share our hearts as women. 

It is important to share the lies we face and battle them together.

So, today I'm also sharing a lie that I have overcome,
A lie that took me years to overcome.
It isn't something I write about often, but today I want to share. 

The lie I once believed was that I deserved to be treated badly by guys. 

Honestly, I'm not sure when I started to believe this lie.

Part of me believes that it probably started with not having my dad around much.

That, in itself told me I wasn't wanted, wasn't good enough. 

As I grew up I wanted to be loved and it didn't really seem to matter from who. 

When I was 15 I found what I thought was love from a guy 3 years older than me. 

He took advantage of me and then broke my heart. Multiple times. 

He would tell me he didn't want me, he would be with other girls, we'd break up.

Over and over again the cycle went. 

I thought that relationship was the worst of it, but then I went to college.

From my freshman year until the end of my junior year I was in an abusive relationship. 

Those years were the worst for me. 

I remember constantly being lied to. 

I remember constantly being called names - the b word, a slut, ect. 

I remember the cruel jokes that left me thinking, "What kind of person does that?" 

I remember being so depressed that I couldn't get out of bed, eat, or go to class.

All I could do was cry, throw things, cut myself, and drink. 

All those moments I heard Jesus calling to me.
I heard Him telling me to run, to get out.

I tried many, many times, but it never was for long, not until my breaking point. 

^^^Me in college^^^

I still remember that night.
I was watching a movie with my best friend when I got a phone call about him. 

It was a mutual friend saying they couldn't find him.
That he'd been drinking and doing drugs. 

I told our friend that it wasn't my problem any more. 

We hung up and he called back saying he found him and was bringing him to me.

I panicked because I couldn't handle him when he got this way.
I told him to take him home and hung up.

I was terrified, so I called his mother and explained things. 

She, of course, was panicked herself and said she'd call me back.
The next time I answered it was him. 

He was laughing cruelly at me because I'd fallen for it all. 

He was fine, just getting back at me for saying it was over,
I couldn't be with him for a second longer. 

I screamed some not so nice things and told him to never speak to me again.

Then I hung up and threw my phone across the room. 

After picking it up and putting it back together I had a message from him. 

It was full of name calling and many cruel things. 

I was in shock, unable to believe that things could get this bad. 

But I was also completely done. 

Things got worse from there.
There was a time when he played such a horrible joke on me...
That my life felt like it could be over.

It sounds dramatic and a part of me wishes I could share it,
But it's really not for this space. 

I hadn't talked to him for a few months,
But he called me in the summer to lie to me, to terrify me. 

It worked. I thought I was going to die. 

Not in a dramatic way. But that lie, if it were true, could have killed me. 

Those two things were my breaking point,
But at the same time they were my starting point. 

My starting point of going to Jesus for healing and truth. 

My starting point of realizing that I didn't deserve to be treated like trash. 

It took so much to overcome the lie,
That I deserved everything that was thrown at me. 

I spent a whole summer writing letters to God in my journal, 

laying in bed bawling my eyes out, and praying.

It took anger, a broken heart, and lots of relying on Jesus to overcome the lie. 

It also took meeting my husband and realizing that not all guys are awful. 

All these things made me realize that God loves and cherishes me. 

I deserve to be loved, respected, cherished. 

I overcame this lie with Jesus. I know He is the only way I was able to. 

That's the lie I overcame.
And there are so many more women out there that have much to share.
Need to share your own? Need to be encouraged? Simply want to know more?
Check out Overcome The Lie on twitter, facebook, and the blog.