Put An End to Abuse & Suffering

Lately I've been so attacked. I'm just getting my life together after the loss of my precious son, Brian, my father, and my sister, Sue, who lost her battle with cancer just before Christmas.

It's hard losing those that we love.

My son passed away from heart complications, my father due to COPD, and my sister due to cancer. Although it was hard to let them spread their wings toward heaven. It was equally hard to watch them suffer day after day.

Sadly, suffering is part of life.

But there is a type of suffering that we can do something about, and even prevent. Abuse. A five letter word that is so misunderstood. Abuse, bullying, violence, are all forms of power and control. Some think it's love. And this is how someone acts when they love you.

Love is not Abuse. Love is not bullying. Love is not violence.

The Bible gives a really clear picture of what love is in I Corinthians 13:4-8

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. 

If each of us walked in this true definition of love, there would be no abuse, bullying or violence. Can you imagine if we all "loved" others the way God wants us to? WOW! I can!

That gets me excited! I hope it gets you pumped up too. Because together we can put an end to abuse and suffering, by loving the abuse, bullying and violence out of this world!

A Dream Come True by Lisa Freeman of AbuseBites.com

A Dream Come True!

Wow! It’s finally happening--finally coming true! The moment we’d all dreamed of—going out on the road to Stop Abuse/Bullying & bring healing. But something’s missing. Something enormously important. It saddens me to even think about it.

Brian. This was his dream. His goal. All he ever talked about. Even though he was critical and on the heart transplant list for five years, he always said, “Mom, you can’t go without me.”

This is the same kid that was born with Asperger’s Syndrome, who was way different from all the other kids. Not a bad different, a unique different. He stood out in the crowd. Peculiar maybe, strange, yeah, but beyond all that outward stuff, was amazing stuff going on inside the big brain and oversized heart of his. What he didn’t have in health, he far surpassed in knowledge and love.

Because every day even though he was bullied his entire life, he chose to forgive his bullies, love them, and move on to help others.

In the weeks before he died he walked in one of the longest and hottest parades and handed out candy to kids to raise awareness on abuse and bullying. This is one of my most cherished memories, because typically Brian got so winded he had to sit in the van, but as usual, he gave it his all and pressed on.

When he passed away, my heart broke. I didn’t know how I’d ever go on. But then we found a change jar that he’d been saving. As I held that jar in my hand, I knew we were to collect CHANGE so we could be the CHANGE for Brian and others like him.

It is evident that Brian will go with us, not in the way we planned, but in the way God planned! Please support our Walk n Talk Across Michigan so we can literally CHANGE HEARTS and SAVE LIVES in our son’s memory!

To donate or sponsor Abuse Bites and this mission, or to obtain more information log onto www.abusebites.com and click on the “Walk n Talk to Stop Abuse” link at the right.