Having a spouse wasn’t all it was chalked up to be. If dinner wasn’t done right, you’ll have a new bruise on your skin. If coffee wasn’t made in the morning, you’ll have to explain the black eye. If the house wasn’t spotless, you might even be looking up from a hole in the ground.

It never got that far but you always feared it will, especially when your spouse’s friends came over.

So, let’s cut to you, standing in rather baggy clothing, hiding the lingering pain and the nasty bruises, outside a church. You hadn’t been in years it seemed, too caught up with your spouse and their abuse.

And, even as you made your way to box of confessions, you still thought you didn’t belong. Muttering the phase that’s plagued you your whole life, Father, forgive me for I have sinned, you weren’t expecting a response.

“You can only be forgiven if you speak your sins to God, my dear,” The priest, Sam, spoke.