No Looking Back
Looking in the mirror and seeing the bunny trails returning, I thought, “Now, what do I do about them?” Those dreaded stinking bunny trials. When I got my last Botox injections, I knew it was only temporary, as with the fillers. It's only a temporary fix. I told my husband and my anti-aging doctor I wanted the lifestyle lift. It was more permanent than filler and injections and less invasive and expensive than a facelift. Less downtime. Made sense to me. They both frowned. So did I. I didn’t call the shots; the one with the money and the one with the needles did.
Here I am, in a shelter for women fleeing domestic abuse, worrying about returning bunny trials….how stupid and superficial!? Three times I have left the destructive relationship, two times I have returned due to the financial situation, and dare I look back at the pleasures enjoyed? The messages, the facials, the access to an anti-aging doctor, a good chiropractor, manicures, pedicures. A beautiful house, a house cleaner, good organic food. Vacations, shopping sprees, what more could a woman want?
Reality. Damage Control. Therapy, medications, stress so bad the chiropractic adjustments wouldn’t hold, the messages didn’t undo the layers of knots in my shoulders, and the manicures and pedicures were less than what I needed. Botox and fillers couldn’t erase the added ten years of aging in less than four years of marriage. I had to go back to The House. No amount of exterior excursions could change the fact that I had to go back to The House. To The Abusive Husband.
As I looked at my traumatic, chaotic life and the great losses, the Lord said, “Do not look back.” What? Was that Lord? I was unsure. All throughout the day, Lots' wife came to my mind. I pondered why she looked back as the Lord’s angel delivered her and her family from destruction. Did she, too, have a leisurely lifestyle, nice, pretty clothes, and a beautiful home?
I reviewed the reasons I returned to the relationship twice previously and the outcomes of returning. There was no change in him, thus no change in the marriage. Since returning from Florida the last time I left him, I needed to take Xanax when I knew he was on his way home from the office. I took it on the weekends to keep calm around him. Depression and anxiety were my everyday norms now. Did I want to continue living like this, or was I willing to trust God and let Him lead me on a final Exodus journey into the life He wants me to live?
This time, there was no returning, no looking back. I was wasting my life on an illusion that my husband controlled. All hell broke loose when I pulled aside the illusion and tried to confront his fantasy world. I was the crazy one, I was the one on meds, I was the one that twisted things and abused him. I was the one playing the victim…well, no more! I came to a decision. No more games, no more lies, no more power and control over me. Enough was enough!
No looking back this time. So, let the bunnies run the trails on my aging face. May I age gracefully free in the arms of the One who won my freedom.
