In 1993, when I found myself riding in the ambulance, on my way to the state mental hospital in San Antonio, Texas, I knew I had definitely reached the end of my proverbial mental and emotional road.
That road started at age four, when I was violently sexually molested by a young teen male babysitter. Raised in a home where alcohol was prevalent, and physical abuse was called ‘discipline,’ I learned at an early age how to survive physical and mental and emotional abuse. Taught to always look as though things were in a perfect state of being, I became proficient at the art of deception. my mother and I didn’t get along, to say the least. So, after a life plagued with mental and emotional illness, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and alcohol and drug addiction, which spanned more than 30 years, it was all coming to a dramatic end. I had survived 4 bad, often tumultuous marriages, involving spousal abuse, twice homeless, 3 suicide attempts, voluntarily committing myself to two different psychiatric hospitals in the past, I was now going to be involuntarily committed to a state mental hospital. This time the choice was not mine.
Diagnosed with anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder, clinical depression, dissociative disorder, mild schizophrenic and suicidal ideation. But the journey in this hospital would be like no other journey I had ever been on before.
The events that took place in the state mental hospital in Texas led me to write my book, THE WOMAN AT THE WELL…today. It took seventeen years to write. It was painful, emotional and scary, sometimes all at the same time. It will take you on a personal and private, and often painful journey.
Miracles really do happen.
If you suffer silently with mental and emotional problems, or know someone who does, this book will inspire and encourage you how you too can emerge from extreme despair and unbelievable heartbreak, to finding an all-loving, all-merciful, and all-forgiving Heavenly Father, who will fill you with unspeakable love and peace. Join me on my journey and learn how God instantly and miraculously healed me, while involuntarily confined in a state mental hospital.
Are You Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired?
The Woman at the Well…today Bible Study (WAW) is an intense, confidential class designed for women who suffer silently with mental and emotional problems. Maybe you are just stuck in moving forward in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Perhaps, you have been looking for a study to bring to the hurting women in your church, small group, or women's fellowship.
Women in the Inland Empire
(Southern California)
The Woman at the Well...today Bible Study is a study for women who need mental and emotional healing. Even if you find yourself "stuck" in moving forward in your relationship with Jesus, then this Bible study is for you.
Join us for the next 14-week in-depth study of the Samaritan woman in John 4:1-42, while exploring and applying the biblical principles in Philippians 4:6-9.
Have you been suffering silently because of trauma from your past? It is sometimes too shameful to ask for help, especially if you are a Christian. You may feel you don't have enough faith, or that others may think you're not spiritual enough, not praying enough, or not reading your Bible enough. The list the “enemy” plays in your head can be endless. Women are plagued in epidemic proportions with various types of painful experiences: Abortion, adultery, betrayal, chronic illness, divorce, emotional abuse, grief, incest, loss, the occult, physical abuse, rape, rejection, sexual abuse, and even witchcraft.
It is particularly hurtful when other Christians turn their backs when the results of these painful experiences lead to such things as alcohol/drug addiction, anger/rage, bitterness, depression, eating disorders, guilt, mental/emotional illness, panic attacks, shame, suicidal thoughts/attempts, and unforgiveness. Living with any of these can be destructive and debilitating.
Can you identify with any of the above? Just like the woman at the well, Jesus has set out to meet you right where you are today. Do you struggle keeping intimate relationships? Do you ask yourself, “How could I be a Christian and do the things I do?” Are you drowning in that emotional pool of despondency?
The Lord has not forsaken you. He has not forgotten about you or your circumstances. Has it been a while since you have experienced His goodness, mercy, grace, or love? As long as you have breath, there is hope. God is in the business of giving multiple chances. Do you need more than one chance; two chances; three chances; four chances, five chances?
These are some of the issues discussed here at Women At the Well Ministries (WAW), and in The Woman at the Well…today Bible Study. In the WAW Membership section, every question, every prayer request, and the identity of members are kept confidential. We respect your privacy. We want to walk with you on this journey. We want to help you walk through your pain with the love that Jesus has for you. Won't you let us help?
If you suffer from any of these, please contact us.
Read Chapter 1 of THE WOMAN AT THE WELL...today. This is my extreme testimony how God healed me, while in a state mental hospital. After being a Christian for 10 years, God led me through the dry, bruised desert in order to arrive at "the peace that passes all understanding." Another 3 years of abuse, fear, and devastation, through mental illness, He would finally meet me in a most unlikely place.
Break the Chains of adultery, betrayal, chronic illness,
divorce, emotional abuse, grief, incest, loss, mental illness, the occult,
physical abuse, rape, rejection, sexual abuse, and even witchcraft.
May the Lord God surprise you with abundant blessings today,
Barbara Rupp