America the Great: #GodBlessAmerica

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Make America Great Again we have heard from two Republican presidents. A man from Hope was a youngish Demoncrat president. An inspirational figure became the first Black president with some magic words, "hope" and "change." My story is America's story. God said, "Let there be light." and the world came into existence. He said, through a prophet, "The truth will set you free." and He meant it. More than I knew, though, my confirmation verse would be what I returned to in my darkest decades. I went through a lot, surviving the prolonged shock of what I was hiding. The healing and the trauma are things you cannot hide, though. We are formed of the same golden material forged in the heart of stars and more special than any magnificent gift God has placed in the universe. I still tell myself this, anyway. My mantra of #fraud, #waste, and #abuse attracted more attention than I would ever realize and it would take me years to appreciate fully. Nothing you would hear outside these pages would shock you if you are at all familiar with the process of healing from abuse. For example, I did not even know I had been abused for a decade and a half.

That said, because of my survival, you can pick and choose -- as appropriate -- the parts or passages from my story that resonate with people who seem weak, but merely need their strength unlocked. I can say that most of my survival, recovery, and conversion are due to an intense relationship with God, which has often precluded relationships with others. That is a dual edged sword, or -- to mix metaphors -- a double sided there’s pros and cons to taking time to rebalance, center, and reach a harmonious existence within yourself. My struggle, but also my success, my sacrifices, my sins, and my strife have come to define and enlighten my life. I slip into nihilistic defeatism, but prefer music and light, peace and joy, calm and harmony. It took two years to write this, as a father of three in a new generation, so I not just come clean, I want to come I am a Catholic, a sinner, and a survivor. I have learned my lessons. Now, go write your own!