Revised on July 28, 2026
Child sexual abuse leaves wounds that extend far beyond the moment the abuse occurs. The choices of one person can affect generations, leaving emotional, spiritual, and relational scars that linger long after the abuse has ended.
As a survivor, I witnessed those consequences within my own family.
The Effects of Child Sexual Abuse
As children, my father instilled in us, “You don’t tell anyone what goes on in this house.” – Eight of nine children kept his secret.
By all accounts, my father was a respected man. He served his community as a volunteer firefighter for twelve and one-half years. He built a house for his wife and children.
He worked long hours for thirty-two years at the International Paper Mill to provide for his family. He also managed several extensive vegetable gardens and cut his firewood every fall for heat.
My father was a hard-working man and a good provider. Yet he gave in to sinful desires, sexually abusing his daughters until one finally found the courage to run away and notify the authorities.
Afterward, he fled into the woods and attempted suicide. He survived, but bore a knife scar from ear to ear and a deep wound below his knee for the rest of his life.
The visible scars, etched in place, were a constant reminder of the transgressions committed against his children until the day he died.
It is heartbreaking that the sin of sexual abuse destroyed everything he had worked so hard to build—his marriage, his family, and ultimately his own life.
Dad passed away in 1989 at the age of fifty-six. He received deep gratitude and respect with a memorial flag to honor firefighters who have served. However, several of his children and grandchildren still suffer the consequences.
His choices left invisible wounds in the hearts and minds of his wife and nine children. Those wounds lingered for years—and for some, a lifetime.
Child sexual abuse leaves lasting consequences, but those consequences do not have to define the rest of your life. Healing begins when truth is brought into the light, shame is replaced with God’s grace, and we seek His wisdom to restore what sin has broken.
The sins committed against us were never our choice, but by God’s grace we can choose a different path—one marked by truth, healing, forgiveness, and hope.