scandaLIESed

For shame, for shame... I've found myself in the same crappy situation. Lonely and loveless, I've given too much, and there's nothing to show for it but my tears and seething anger. I can't really decide whether to be angry with him or with myself. Since I'm an introvert I turn my anger inwards and eat too much, then eat too little, work out like a maniac, sleep all day, stir all night. I envy the extroverts who speak up for themselves and beat the fool out of their men. But either way, there's no rest and no peace because once again, I've been scandaLIESed.

Did I misspell that? Of course, but for good reason. Am I speaking of myself? Yeah, but the krazier me.... the one that couldn't make sense of simple truths about other peoples' intentions. I am no longer that person.

Too many of us find ourselves trapped by bad decisions. We're left with the guilt and embarrassment, and often, weightier consequences like unexpected children and infections. (My personal experience is that even unexpected children are a blessing, most infections can be cured with a pill, but the guilt is earth-shaking for YEARS! But the bloood of Jesus is more than enough!! *Gotta get my preach in there a little bit...*)

When I think back to those situations, and there were many for me, I come up with the same answers. Somebody somewhere told a lie... let's start with the first responsible party. You... Oops, I meant me.

1. You lied to yourself. How many times have you gone out with a person that you weren't really attracted to just to humor them, or someone else? A good friend of mine warned me against this. If you're lonely enough you could fall in love with the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and that cocky bama will still break your heart. If you think he's too tall, too short, too ugly... leave it be. Plus I recently went out with someone who made it clear he wasn't attracted to me. I didn't know he felt that way going into it the date, but I wish his blind butt hadn't wasted my time. 
2. You've been lied to, and you believed it. The Lord rebuked me a few weeks ago for believing someone when they told me that they loved me. I knew full well that the person was not capable of love, but I accepted his good intentions as truth. That poor guy was eventually trapped by his own words when he couldn't live up to making the choice to love me on a daily basis. Who's to blame here? Well, of course, he should know better, but I'm responsible too. Just because he said it, doesn't mean I had to believe it. In fact, I should've set him straight immediately. Ladies, we set the standards for relationships, and sometimes we have to make the fellas back up. I apologized to that joker for believing him... The Lord made me do it. (He can be so unfair at times.) The joker responded "Ok... no problem. Who is this?" LOL... No apology in return, but that would just be too much like right.
3. You tried to change the intent of something that cannot be changed, i.e. sex. "We're both adults, so we can have sex with no strings attached. I won't ask where you've been. You don't ask where I've been. No feelings allowed... Just sex." Have you seen Lord of the Rings? Sex is like the ring. It cannot be controlled. In fact, the ring controls you. No matter HOW you try to redefine the purpose, sex was made to bring to people together by uniting their bodies and souls. So believe that lie if you want, but I promise it will not end well for you. (SB: The worst men will try to convince you that they have feelings for you just to keep you in bed with them.) Don't make this agreement EVER. By the way, just sleeping with them without having that conversation automatically enrolls you into this type of relationship... for lack of a better term.
4. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's still a snake. He seems nice, right? But his friend's list is laced with profile pics of seductive women. Or maybe you've dated him before, and it ended badly. I'm not saying don't give people a chance, but you can rest assured you're not missing anything with these types. Here's why. You're like a rabbit that needs to cross a river. Snake offers to take rabbit across, promising not to bite the rabbit. Even though rabbit is doubtful, she decides to trust snake because snake made a promise, and rabbit is good-natured and, well, trusting. Rabbit and snake get halfway across the river when snake takes a big chunk out of our naive, fluffy friend. Then snake says "You should've known I was going to bite you. I'm a snake, and that's what we do." Need I say more?
5. You tried to change something about yourself to become more appealing. I'm not talking about physical qualities. A little lipgloss never hurt anybody. But I used to hold back some things from folks when I first met them so they wouldn't feel overwhelmed, but those were the exact things that were deal-breakers in the end. Subconsciously I knew that they weren't right for me. (Boy, am I being transparent?) So now I always tell a person that has expressed interest (or attraction) that I am a celibate woman of faith, I'm divorced, I have two children, and I'm curvy. I risk the rejection early on because if the fella knows I'm not what he wants, he wastes less of my time.

I know I've left myself wide open for judgment and criticism, but the truth must be told. Everyone makes mistakes, but women are often left feeling powerless and ashamed after letting down their guard, even when we have the best of intentions. Don't try to think like a man because you can't. Think like a woman that has good sense. Give no room to lies whether they be from you or another person because, in the end, you are the only person responsible for your well-being.

Believing the lie empowers the liar. Be bold and confront the liar, even if it's you, with the truth. The best liars mix deception with a bit of truth to draw you in. Rightly divide, and press on. If all else fails, hang up, delete, and block. No one can argue with silence.

Sisters, it's time to rip off the scarlet letters that remain from jilted love and lust. There is life beyond the foolishness we've encountered, but you have to set the framework in truth and wisdom. No more lies. No more scandals.


Two final points... not all men do these things, and some do them with good intentions. Just protect yourself from the fella with good intentions that doesn't know how to follow through. And lastly, some women pull this crap too. I'm just learning how insane some women are, so please be patient with me as I learn to present the full picture. 

Now that I've poured out, I want to hear from you. Talk to me people. Let me know you're following...


Your cybersister,

Alana