An Open Letter to Female Sex Addicts

Dear Precious One,

I have been where you are.  I am no stranger to the shame that you feel.  Although they are now in my rear view mirror, the horrible self-hate, the embarrassment, the sexual desires that I feared I could not control, the depression, the regret, and so many other emotions were all too real to me not long ago.

When I was about 11 years old, I came across a hidden stash of pornography under a relative’s mattress.  Very quickly what I accidentally stumbled across, I began to seek out intentionally.  And what I began to seek out intentionally, I quickly became addicted to.  Pornography didn’t come alone though.  I also became highly addicted to masturbation and when I became an adult i added as many as 2 dozen anonymous sexual encounters to my addictive cycle.  I “knew” I was alone, I was hopeless, and something was desperately wrong with me.

I have no doubt that some (if not al) of the above emotions and thoughts you have shared.  But I am happy to tell you, you are not alone.  You are not hopeless.  Nothing is wrong with you.   You deserve to know the truth.  What is the truth?  Part of the truth is that some numbers indicate that as many as 40% of Christian women struggle with pornography.  Again, you are not alone.  The truth is that you, like all women, are broken – nothing, however is wrong with you.  Most importantly, the truth is that there is hope for you.  Yes, many women struggle.  But many women have been set free!

Have you tried again and again to be free?  Promised yourself, “I will not look at that porn again”.  Or have you been sickened by your secret habit of masturbation that you just can’t break.  Do you despise that over and over again you have told yourself that you will save yourself for marriage, only to give yourself to yet another man?  Has all of this left you feeling like you don’t want to try again?  If you answered yes to any of these, then you are ripe for a miracle.  I have good news for you!

Lift up your head.  You have a God who knows exactly where you are at.  He loves you.  Yes, He loves you.   You, the one who is convinced that if anyone knew your secret they would despise you.  He knows all about it, and not only does He love you, He is not mad at you.    He sees you right where you’re at.  He sees what you struggle with, and it doesn’t make Him want to turn Himself from you.  Quite the contrary, He is turning Himself toward you, offering you something more.

Please, don’t let your past keep you from your future.  God has so much more for you than you are living in now.  I know how it feels to struggle for years, and try to quit a habit that you hate.  I know how it can paralyze one from wanting to try again.  Don’t let yourself be paralyzed.  There are springs of fresh water waiting for you, please do not settle for drinking from a mud puddle.

I know what it is to have tried so many times, that believing in hope seems like the most terrifying thing that there is.  But, I also know what it is to keep trying and to repeatedly start again at the same place. That place is crying out to the Lord for His help in our brokenness.  He is the One, after all, that we truly are looking for in all of our sexual acting out.  We, as women, crave intimacy to our core.  Jesus can provide that.  An endless need requires an endless resource.  There is only One who can qualifies to meet our need.  I think we know that’s not a man, an orgasm, or pornography.  Those things only leave us empty.

If you don’t give up, and you keep allowing yourself to get up, eventually you will be victorious!  One day of not acting out will turn into one week, one week will turn into one month, one month will turn into one year! 

There’s so much waiting for you on the other side of this.  I can assure you, it will be the fight of your life.  But I can also assure you, that it will be worth it to have this in your past as a memory.   What awaits you is an end to the mounting shame, the lack of emotional connection with yourself others and God, the self-hatred, the relationships that are adversely affected, and every other negative thing that comes with your bondage.  A life of freedom from the shame of your sin,  true intimacy that your heart craves, living life with integrity, dealing with your emotions in more healthy ways, liberty from the pain of abandonment,   and the ability to enjoy the abundant life Jesus came to give really can be yours! 
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Freedom is possible dear heart.  The door stands open before you.  Will you walk through it?
 
Sincerely,
Someone who has been where you are, and hopes to see you on the other side