Exclusif Entertainment August 2014, Issue 5 | Page 43

to him, seeking help and counseling one evening. I told my Pastor-Elder about a few of ” his abusive incidents, asking for help… and guess what? Well, our Pastor-Elder did not believe me! I was so hurt… I began to cry! Ysidra: “At the time the marriage collapsed, we were attending the churches where my former father-in-law was the pastor. My inlaws knew our marriage was struggling and often tried to intervene and counsel us. …That was their way of supporting the marriage. When it was time for me to make my exit, I did not consult with anyone because I knew they would want me to stay and “endure all,” …and I was not willing to do that.” God. …dissect that which the organized churchsystem-calls-Christianity. Roc: “My experience caused me to question God in the sense of… ‘What is wrong with me? ‘…Was I not sexy enough, pretty enough, etc. …until I finally came to the realization that this wasn't about me. This was clearly about his demons, and the inability to be truthful with me, not as my Leader but as my husband. I finally came to terms with… my husband loved me, but his body rejected me. That "Down Low" demon is powerful. Wenona: “…I questioned a lot of things, which makes religious leaders itch and nervous. …That eventually led me to leave church as a whole. …But the funny thing is once I left the institutional church, that's when I started to learn Question: With all of this abuse from more-about-God!” the men whom you married as "preachers of the gospel of Jesus “It was absolutely incredible! I got closer to God Christ" …and preaching a gospel, that when I drew away from church folks! I think I according to your reports, they were needed that time alone...just God and I … so He obviously not living themselves… Did himself could show me things… …Answer my your experiences cause you to questions, what have you. So to answer your question, God, Jesus …your spiritual question, my experiences made me question my religious beliefs, but strengthened my spiritual beliefs? beliefs.” Wenona: “…What a LOADED question! My experience with preachers - being abused by Ysidra: “The experiences of my marriage never them, cheated on by them, mistreated and caused me to question God’s existence in my life. lied to - definitely caused me to question How strong is a belief system if it can’t be trusted EVERYTHING I had ever been taught in the I always knew that God was with me, although I often questioned church-system.” why His presence seemed so distant." “While some may see that as a bad thing, I eventually looked upon it as an opportunity to grow spiritually. I never stopped believing in GOD or Jesus Christ...but I did question Lynn Littlejohn the veracity and authenticity of the Word of August 201 4 l Exclusif Entertainment l 42