Living Well
Returning to Her First Love
Educating, encouraging and empowering teens to stand against domestic violence
By Erika Lee
In the Summer 2012 inaugural issue, we featured the story of Erika Lee
and how she started the P.U.R.S.E. Foundation to raise teen domestic violence awareness after being involved in an abusive relationship and the murder
of her college friend, Nova Henry (see page 14). Erika gives us an update on
her life and the work of the Atlanta-based P.U.R.S.E. Foundation.
I
self. I thank God for mastering
in all the things I minored in.
His love was clear as day and
even more evident in the godly
man He sent to me. We are
engaged to be married. I learned
that when God gives one a vi-
t’s been seven years since my last encounter with an abusive relationship and
life could not be better. Since leaving that
lifeless relationship, I returned to my first love.
sion, He will also bring
My first love helped me to regain my focus and
people or a person along
rebuild my confidence. He allowed me to voice my
to help give birth to the
concerns, fears and burdens without feelings of
vision and provide rebeing judged. The best thing about returning to my
sources to help carry the
first love is that He knew me better than anyone.
vision out. This is just
He knew how to handle me with care and correct
one of the many great
me in love. I had flaws and imperfections that only Erika Lee’s story was featured in The Well Summer 2012
things I can say about
He could understand and perfect from within. I
my man of God, who sees and knows firsthand my imperfechad to return to the One, where love originated, to obtain directions, but knows the God-given vision and is here to help me
tion for the road ahead.
give birth to the Kingdom work God has designed for me to do.
Jesus, my first love, helped me to learn that love was not what I
The P.U.R.S.E (Partnering Under Real Situations Everyday)
solely saw on TV and made my reality. Love was not solely the
Foundation came by a way of a dream, was activated by faith and
butterfly feelings in my belly that ensured me that I was in love.
is now a reality. P.U.R.S.E. helps to bring awareness on the issue
Love was abandoning all the things I created to be loved in order
of teen dating violence and domestic violence by informing eveto renew my mind with the understanding of the love that was
ryone of the red flags, warning signs and resources to help escape
given to me first by Jesus.
an abusive partner. This has been an amazing year for the FounI spent three years rebuilding my self- esteem and confidence to
dation as we have obtained our 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Since
ensure when I started dating again, I would have enough of me to
obtaining our exempt status, we have been provided with m