I am learning how to better show love to others and to accept love from others, to open myself up emotionally to others – not only in love relationships, but also in friendships. I don’t have to ‘survive’ anymore… I don’t live in an abusive environment anymore. It’s finally sinking in: Just because my past was painful doesn’t mean my future HAS to be also. God has more for me and is melting away the hardness built up over years of abuse… so that I can be and become who He always intended for me to become. God is my stability and is helping me to break down those thick and sturdy walls that I had to build up for years, in order to not be completely torn apart inside. Now I have to ask God to melt the hard places in my heart and to bring warmth to me so that I can share it with others and accept it from others. It’s beginning to happen more… it’s just a process.