I was depressed as a child. My parents had an unhappy marriage and divorced when I was in third grade. To make matters worse, my mother thought that moving away from people and their influences on her children was a solution to multiple problems. Some school years I attended three different schools from September through June. Sometimes we only moved within one county yet a different school. Other times we moved several states away. When we lived in the south, we had one pair of sneakers and clothing for warmer climates. Then in the middle of the year we'd move to a climate where it snowed. Sometimes my mother would sell all our furniture and we'd take a train to the new state. Then she'd buy new beds for 5-6 kids as she earned enough money for them. She would get rid of some of our belongings so she wouldn't have the cost of shipping them. She never bought bicycles.
The first stepfather made my mother give the TV to her sister. Someone ended up with the electric mixer because he didn't like it. My mother fed the three children of her first husband(my dad) separately. Later we moved to a house with an attached apartment. My sister became a surrogate mother (at age 14) and cooked meals for our dad's children. We weren't allowed in the house! By then our mother and stepfather had two little children. After their divorce, I got to be with those other siblings. During that marriage we had no Christmases. No, my mother and stepfather didn't attend church. I'm glad I loved reading. That was my substitute for TV. My favorite book was Heidi. Heidi had to live in Germany but missed her life back in the Swiss Alps.
GOOD NEWS! God used those circumstances to make me compassionate. As we depend on guidance from the Bible, we learn how to treat others. I love the advice I find in the Bible, especially KINDNESS and FORGIVENESS.
The first stepfather made my mother give the TV to her sister. Someone ended up with the electric mixer because he didn't like it. My mother fed the three children of her first husband(my dad) separately. Later we moved to a house with an attached apartment. My sister became a surrogate mother (at age 14) and cooked meals for our dad's children. We weren't allowed in the house! By then our mother and stepfather had two little children. After their divorce, I got to be with those other siblings. During that marriage we had no Christmases. No, my mother and stepfather didn't attend church. I'm glad I loved reading. That was my substitute for TV. My favorite book was Heidi. Heidi had to live in Germany but missed her life back in the Swiss Alps.
GOOD NEWS! God used those circumstances to make me compassionate. As we depend on guidance from the Bible, we learn how to treat others. I love the advice I find in the Bible, especially KINDNESS and FORGIVENESS.
