What were they telling my siblings right now? That I had traded them in because I wanted the approval and love and attention of outsiders—that I wanted to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, because I loved the world more. Had I chosen the love of the world over the love of my family? My mind rebelled at the thought, at the crippling guilt. I would never have willingly made such an exchange. This had never been a choice between strangers and family, between the world’s love and its hatred. It wasn’t the desire for an easy life that led me to leave. Losing them was the price of honesty. A
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