Have you ever been wrong about something really important?

I was wrong about almost everything.... but in my defence I was blind.

The following is an excerpt of my life. If you've seen it posted here before, I apologize for the repetition, but I believe there is always someone new in the forum that needs to hear it:

There are only three negative emotions - anger, fear and sadness - and variations of them.

Because we are trained to hide our weaknesses and show our strengths, people use anger as their 'go-to' emotion when they are (in reality) hurting.

I was methodically tortured by several people growing up within my own family. One of my earliest memories is having my thumbnail ripped out with a pair of pliers when I was 4 yrs old. I was stabbed when I was 8.... beaten with a belt every few days.... the list goes on and on and on. I was meek and timid. Afraid all the time. Sad all the time.

When I was 15, one of them was beating my head on the floor with two handfulls of my hair, and to stop the beating, I dug my nails into their bare feet. This was the first time I fought back, ever. A full on fight ensued, but I defended myself. I didn't 'win'... I wasn't out to... I just didn't want to be beaten anymore.

I felt vindicated. I felt empowered. This new thing - this anger - that was within me, started to surface more and more. It was MY GOD! I dug myself a rut for the next few decades until I had no control and despised myself. The abused became the abuser. My nickname was 'The Junkyard Dog'.

I remember those days... thinking that my anger was a cry for help.... couldn't people see past it?.... oh what I would have done if someone... anyone... showed me a little kindness.

Jesus set me free. I am as gentle as a sheep... and would give you the wool off my back. He cured me of all my hate (including self-loathing), my anxiety, my tears, my screaming, a thirty year smoking addiction and completely cured my addiction to all the temporary pleasures the world offers, including my addiction to sex (shamefully, I had over 200 lovers during my adult life)...

Believe it if you want, or don't. I don't care. You can't make up this stuff. I'm content all the time no matter what's going on, and I have a heart for the junkyard dogs out there.... they didn't get that way on their own.

See my profile for an excerpt of the night I met Jesus (after carefully investigating the claims he made about Himself, I was convinced that his was no ordinary man.... ). When I said the words out loud and believed in my heart, I was given a shiny new life. I am a living testimony of Jesus' claims..... and happy to be able to share, hoping it leads others to Him.

God bless you in your journey.

Peace.

The first and probably biggest case

was figuring out that I was wrong

thinking that my parents had to be correct,

if they told me something

that they seemed completely certain about.

Santa Clause was just the warning sign.

Turns out, I have to decide, for myself,

what is real and what isn't.

'Someone said so', isn't good enough,

even when the 'someone'

is my parents.

--

Regards,

John Popelish

I have. For my entire life, I was brought up wiccan.

I've been wrong many times, it's when I look for evidence of a belief I learn what we really know about that thing.

Two things I have never done. 1) Been wrong about something important. 2) Lied

Yes. More than once. Thankfully I didn't let what I wanted to be true cause me to discard what was actually true. Those situations didn't end in disaster just in embarrassment and a dose of bitter medicine. Nowadays I'm a better person. I don't plan on being so rash.

Yeah. It made me sadder and wiser. I don't know if that made me better or worse. It made me different.

No, i never found out that my satanic atheism is wrong, so no effects of this discovery ever occured.