RE: Facing a dilemma
September 22, 2015 at 12:08 pm
(This post was last modified: September 22, 2015 at 12:12 pm by Catholic_Lady.)
(September 21, 2015 at 9:02 pm)lkingpinl Wrote: So I am currently facing a tough decision in life. I think I need to preface this with a little backstory. To save from a TL;DR I will give a cliff's notes version.
I grew up in a terribly abusive home. My mother was diagnosed with MS when I was 5 and was wheelchair bound and in and out of hospitals. After we told my mother about the abuse she moved us in with our grandparents when I was 8. Two weeks before my ninth birthday she died on our back porch in front of us all. Because MS does not move that rapidly an autopsy was done and the coroner found high levels of arsenic. I remember my step father always preparing our dinners. He worked with arsenic as part of his job. His brother was a cop. Long story short he was never convicted of any charges (not even the abuse) because I was too terrified to take the stand.
I received a call yesterday that my mothers homicide case is being reopened and they want my testimony. This was 26 years ago. My dilemma here is I have moved on. I actually faced this man later in my life and got my personal closure and my life has moved on. For my other family members they still demand justice. I don't know if I really want to rehash all of that and relive it again. It cost me years of therapy and night terrors. I don't know if I want to comply and offer it up for my family members chance at justice (not guaranteed) and at what personal expense? I know you guys don't know me aside from posts here and there but I'm I off base with not wanting to do this? I may risk my family members being very hurt. I've tried explaining my position but they think I'm being selfish. I'm not sure.
King, let me first start off by saying only you can judge what is best for you. If you think this is seriously going to rip you apart, don't do it. Your main priority right now is your wife and children, and if this is going to hinder your ability to care of them as a mentally stable husband and father, then it is not worth it. So take what I say keeping all those things in mind.
My advice? Pray for God's strength and guidance. And then take that and face your past and put this murderer/child molester/child beater behind bars where he will never be able to do this to another mother or child ever again.
God bless, my friend. PM me if you ever want to talk, and in the mean time I will pray for you.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh
