I was working on a project for my Hubby the other day that involves creating a large bulletin board at our church highlighting Eagle Scouts. I did an image search for some of the required merit badges then clicked over to paste a merit badge into my desktop publishing program. When I clicked back, the Boy Scout merit badge was gone and my entire computer screen was covered with a sexually explicit image.
I can’t even begin to tell you how upset this made me. Oliver was no more than two feet from me. I screamed and shut the computer off as quickly as possible. Then I waited for the Hubby to come home and told him what had happened. I was almost in tears.
We conctacted a man in our church congregation whose specialty lies in the area of computers, and specifically computer terrorism, internet predators and cyber crime. He came over last night and is running a series of tests and checks on the computer. It will be protected behind an iron wall when he’s done and I will feel much, much better.
But let me be clear about one thing:
I HATE PORNOGRAPHY MORE THAN JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ON THIS EARTH AND WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO DESTROY MY MARRIAGE, MY FAMILY OR MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY HEAVENLY FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST!!!!!
I know there are many people out there who think it’s no big deal – just a part of life, of growing up, of a relationship or even a marriage. They are WRONG.
I felt horrible for the rest of the day after seeing one explicit image. I could not get the image out of my head. I just felt myself in a really dark place.
I felt so sad and worried for my boys. If one image can do so much damage, imagine an addiction to such images, built up over years, damaging normal perceptions of love, intimacy and respect for the female body and mind.
I felt devastated for my daughter. What kind of chance does she stand to have a healthy body image and loving marriage when there are these kinds of images and expectations out there? I am crying right now just thinking about it.
I will do everything in my power to protect the innocence of my children from pornography. I am determined.
8 comments:
You are not alone in your convictions Samantha, I am first in line to combat the world's way of destroying lives.
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things!" Philipians 4:8
It is always a disturbing, frightening shock to be pulled away from all that is excellent and praiseworthy in this world and to be reminded of the presence of evil.
It's physically and emotionally destructive....I HATE IT.Many in the world are consumed with pornography and at younger and younger ages. Stay strong and fight it.
This hits me too close to home. I'm sorry-- for you, for all of us-- but draw strength from the knowledge that we are raising a more firm, prepared and valiant generation.
Amen, sister!!!
I don't have much to add but an amen! Just like your friend above. Wanting with all my power to keep that filth away from my family.
Wow! That's so awful but I think you dealt with it so very good.
Amen! And I'm jealous you have a local genius helping you out!!! I have been on a quest to educate myself more on this issue because the temptation of and addiction to pornography is real among people I know and love. The statistics are shocking and call on us all to become more aware of how to engage this issue head on like this. Just today I listened to a really fascinating podcast discussion of defining what pornography is, how it takes root in a person because of how our brains react, and healthy ways to overcome it. Understanding how brains react to pornography, or any vice we turn to to escape or cope with the daily rigors or huge challenges life throws at us, is key to providing good strategies and tools to overcome unhealthy and destructive behavior. The interviewee of this podcast talked about his approach - understanding and treating the body's natural needs to create new healthy wiring, rewriting the negative stories we tell or hear in our minds when we slip, and then how to spiritually heal. Really interesting to think and talk about!
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