Freedom comes at a high price.  You often have to lose or sacrifice much to find it.  Sometimes the toll is so high, you would probably not have paid it if you knew ahead of time what it would cost you.  But then there is this new found freedom that you did not expect.  The thing you dreaded and hoped would never be a part of your story has happened.  Living in reality can sting, but the new joy mingled with past pain, would never have been achieved had you not walked through the door of suffering.

Loss can be hard to deal with – especially if the one who inflicted the pain is still there.  Reminders of remorse are easily found in the midst of everyday life.  A familiar face or name or place, an old photograph.  So many things lost – what was thought to be a perfect family, normalcy, a heritage of no divorce, and our innocence.  The trauma and PTSD that follow as you seek to accept your new reality only serve to intensify the feeling of being lost that you cannot shake.

But there is a treasure to be found by those who persevere and use the pain as a tool to find their way to a new life.  Letting go of the former boundaries that defined happiness, our eyes are opened that we were actually imprisoned.  Being groomed and controlled was not freedom at all, and now we finally understand that although scary to undergo so much change, the horrifying scandal only served to deliver us.

What was lost could never compare with what has been found.  Understanding.  Wisdom.  Comfort.  Reality.  The ability to help others in ways I could not before.  Drawing nearer to Him – my God – Who truly is an ever-present help in time of need.  Sometimes getting lost is the only way you can truly be found.