Abuse can happen anywhere, even in the context of places that are supposed to be “safe.” Then again, Job was doing all the right things and look at what happened to him. The end result is that you love your enemies because that’s hard and it sets you apart and this experience now gives you experience from which you can speak and minister to others who are walking the same path. It also gives you grist for writing: you have conflict, dilemma, character archetypes, difficult decisions (stay on and keep getting abused, but I can change him if I love him enough or quit, loss of income, and everyone thinks -you- did something wrong). People sin. Even the ones we hold up to be leaders and examples.

Now that is a good idea. Mentor the newbie & figure out if they can grab their bootstraps and yank up to the group. Turns out the situation I was asking about solved itself. Said writer thought crit group = petting session & walked away in a huff when it turned out their bon mots got called on the carpet as not working. The sad part is some nose to grindstone & they could have made something of their story. Oh well, how many of us are publishing every year? Guess the world will continue spinning with one less.

That part drives me especially crazy. I kinda hate that someone else has gone through that, but at the same time, it’s also a little comforting/normalizing to hear it wasn’t just me.

Maria Grace: Fascinating. Maybe we know the same pastor? Sounds very similar to someone I know. It’s always fun when you say “really? Who?” and they say “they want to be anonymous,” etc.