New Beginnings

For those of you who know me, I am always looking for the easiest and least taxing way to do things! While I seem to have a habit of running smack dab into trouble, I never actually searched for it and am always glad when I am not in it!! So as you read the following post, you can rest assured that in retrospect, having spent the last 9 years of my life here at GRF, if I knew then what I know now, things might have turned out quite a bit differently!!

In all the dealing with the farm over the the last 9 years Susan and I have felt a strong desire to see it's continued use for Christian service and our children have carried that dream with us, albeit not always willingly. We have forgone jobs, income, and friends to see this through and we have enjoyed great scenery and gained wonderful neighbors as well. If I were to sum up the last nine years in a sound it would probably sound like a heartfelt 'Whew"! Great highs, long and lonesome lows and some exhilarating times with friends like Nick & Haidi Telles, Dan & Dorothy Unger,Moses & Miriam Gingerich among others marked this segment of our life as a family. We have seen God work in amazing ways with lawyers, judges, and others in the legal profession.

We moved here in 2001 when our youngest was 4 years old. A lot has changes since then, not least of all our children growing up and striking out in directions that seem to be leading them away from the home we love and cherish. While Susan and I still have a strong vision for GRF, we have found it, at times, opposing the direction our family's lives seem to be taking. Our oldest son is working in a plant 2.5 hours away, our daughter wants to be a nurse and Susan seems to hear the call of warmer climates very clearly starting with the first snowfall of the year! All in all, it has seemed over the last 12-18 months that our life's journey was taking us in a new direction. It began with our children and now Susan and I are also feeling the quiet urging inside to answer the call and pass the torch on to the next ones who will complete the work at Graham River Farm.

Some have asked me if I felt like we are giving up or abandoning the work here. I can say with without any hesitation that this is not the case and that we are moving forward with the plans for the farm and the ministry here. What is changing is the location of the Smith family. Our vision remains strong and our goals for GRF along with the rest of the board of directors are still in place. There has been much speculation over the last 9 years about the motives of Susan and I and what we were trying to accomplish here. Maybe this will put them at rest and allow others to see that the vision for Graham River Farm is much larger than David and Susan. This property was never destined to be ours personally and while we were given the reins for a time, there will be others in the future just as there were others in the past.

Looking back over the time we have had here I am amazed that have lasted this long. My inner tendency is to avoid anything that will require my attention for long periods of time! 1000 piece puzzles hold my attention for all of about 20 seconds and long movies inevitable find me snoring halfway through. Nine years after moving here, having buried both of my parents, burnt WAYYY to many memories and wondering why I quit my job to do it in the first place, I find myself in the unfamiliar position of having spent 9 years of my life on a cause that did not allow me to relax or quit along the way. I never had the option of just walking away and saying to heck with it. Some might argue that point I suppose but to be perfectly honest, I could have no more walked away from here then I could have quit breathing. Both Susan and I have had opportunities since we have been here to throw in the towel and walk away and upon looking at them, we both realized that this was a God-given task and we could not walk away. Even when times were at the darkest and lawyer bills were piling up, we had a peace in our resolve to see this though. And yet, when our oldest son moved out and our daughter needed more schooling than we could offer at home, we saw the need to look outward and in our seeking found the release to hand the torch on.

Susan and I and the family will be moving at some point this summer though the exact time is still up in the air and the exact location is undecided! We have been blessed with business opportunities away from the farm and potential homes all over the place! One of the great things about a worldwide economic reset is that all of a sudden housing is reasonable once more!

So in closing, keep us in your prayers, and we will let everyone know who is interested when we decide where we are going to put down roots in the future!

Dave

More old memories

I received an email from a lady who was one of the pioneers of Graham River Farm. She emailed me some photos of the farm and they brought back some amazing memories for me. She had read about what is happening here on a blog by Haidi Telles. I went to the blog and read Haidi's 'History' page and was once again struck by the positive impact Graham River had on people. Once again others have reaffirmed what I thought to be true; the Move, or Graham River Farm in this case, gave back to others what they gave to it. Those seeking material gain or natural betterment would be sure to leave disappointed and embittered. Those who came with a vision and who gave everything to that vision would leave a better person for it. Even when the time came that they no longer agreed with the vision, they could leave with their head held high knowing that they had held true to their heart and what they believed God had called them to. Even those who did not agree with what became apparent as a flawed governmental system could leave and still gain positive life lessons from their time here. Feel free to disagree, I retain the right to be wrong at least as often as I am right!

Dave

Burning Memories

I write this post with more than a little bit of mixed feelings. We spent the better part of the past week burning old building, fields and some buildings that were not in the plan! For the most part I was OK with the buildings that went as they were a hazard and an eyesore, but a part of me felt the same as many of you who commented on Facebook. Too many memories to mention went up in smoke this week and the only thing left to hang on to are old photographs and my ever increasingly spotty memory.

I can remember meeting my Dad(Durrill Davison) at the hanger on one of his trips up to woo my mom. I remember telling everyone I could find that he was gonna be my dad and that I was gonna fly all over the country in his plane! Well, I was right on both accounts! Sam Fife landing on the runway after clipping a tree on the other side of the river and all the men looking at the plane to decide if it was airworthy, not that any of them had a clue what they were looking at! Sam left the next day and flew it into Edmonton if I remember correctly.

How can I forget the hundreds of rabbits we skinned in the butcher shop by pulling the hides off like a pair of pants! I am amazed that I am not traumatized by the amount of blood we used to work in! Harold Witmer used to make cracklings and if he was in a good mood he would let us kids have some while they were still warm.

I tried to get my Ham Radio license several times in high school after watching Carolanne Fisher in her radio room upstairs in the tabernacle. VE7DEF if I remember correctly! Unfotunately, Morse code and I never got along!

I guess I mention these memories to illustrate a point. If I were asked what my youth was like I would begin by remembering these good times. They far out shadow the times that had a negative impact on my life. This property formed my thinking, gave me a foundation to grow on, and generally set me on the path I follow to this day. The hours of 'casting out' sessions do not hold a candle to the days I spent fishing the Graham with Bobby Guibord and Tim Buerge. The sermons that seemed to never end and had absolutely no connection with a young child are far outweighed by the sermons Bill Ritchie preached in the first years on the farm using a wild animal as a blueprint for some Biblical principle. The lickings that I received from too many adults to count pale to the memory of Del Beurge being so angry with me for not filling the wood box that he said he couldn't spank me because he was afraid he couldn't stop!

The Move had a vision and while I do not hold to that vision today, it formed me and shaped my young life. My parents and the other parents that formed the community here at Graham River Farm believed in a vision enough to carve this farm out of barren meadows and rocky soil. They built the buildings I just spent 3 days burning to pursue a vision that was so real to them that they left careers, family and just about everything they held dear.

I cannot speak for everyone who lived here and I definitely cannot speak to those who grew up on the other communities, but in burning the old cabins and outbuildings here at Graham River Farm, I burnt a not-so-little part of me. I can feel, along with all of you who commented on Facebook, a little sadness at seeing those buildings go up in smoke.

So, those of you who have good memories at Graham River Farm, take a deep breath and go over to the Ex-Grahamites group on Facebook and post a memory or two.

Dave

How Can We Grow?

How Can We Grow?

I have written two letters on the problems with our communities that I believe the Lord has given me some insight into. I would be amiss if I did not also ask Him what are the answers to the problems. Finger pointing is not what I have been told to do. The Lord has given me a specific word and that is to keep these communities alive and vibrant. He does not want the sacrifice of all those who came up here to go to waste. He has a purpose for these communities and he will fulfill it, either with our help or he will wait and use other people after we have all gone. That may be the only way that some will believe. God is not afraid to wait for a people who are willing to hear his voice.

God's Purpose - BE SEEN

The first idea to get out of our minds is that God's purpose is somehow going to be the same as our own. God's ways are far above our own. The instant we think we have it all figured out he will change the focus and we will be left standing in the road trying to decide whether to follow God or continue with things as we see fit. We are at that time right now. God has changed direction and we are standing at the fork in the road. God's way is left and our own way is to the right We have a choice. We can follow our own path it will seem so right that for a while it will seem that it has been blessed but as we continue, the road will peeter out and we will be left wondering what happened. Where is the path that was so clear several years ago. Where is the fruit that should be manifesting right now? God used Graham River Farm to house a Youth With A Mission campus several years ago. It did not continue for a variety of reasons. Speaking to one of the leaders from that school recently he told that 80% of the graduates from the YWAM schools here were working in missions full-time! God used this community for a purpose other than what was generally seen as a part of our calling and God blessed it! This was not an accident. God had shown a different path. Were there problems? Of course. Can they be overcome? Definitely! God does not give us problems greater that what we can bear. Can we see past our own view far enough to see where God is leading us? God's purpose for these communities is not to separate us from the world. God's plan is to make a place for the world to come to be saved. We are to be a light on a hill, not a light under a basket. People should be able to see what we are all about. We should encourage visitors. We should invite other ministry to preach from our pulpit. We should be open with our communities. God's call is for a people to be a light to the world. We cannot be an example unless the people can see us. An example of this concept is Eagle Construction from Hilltop Farm. God can use these men because the world can see them and recognizes the qualities in them. They are in the public eye every day and their lives are their testimony. God will honor that. Another example is The Shepherd's Inn. God has placed that business on one of the most famous highways in the world to be a light on a hill. God can reach people from that platform. Mae's Kitchen is yet another one. God has reached people with these places and through these people. How? By letting themselves be seen and by making themselves accessible to the general public. Are we to be separate? YES! But not in the way that we have come to believe. Our separation is not a physical separation but a spiritual separation. We are called to be apartin spirit not in body. We are to let our light shine in the midst of the darkness. Let our separation be visible in our spirits, not in our physical locations or appearance. When people say that they sense the love in our midst, do you think that they believe that the lack of running water must be the thing that brought it out in us?! Of course not. They are seeing God at work in us! We must allow that to be the governing part of our communities. We must allow God to show his life in our lives and attitudes.

What of Order?

Am I calling for a free for all, lawless community? No, what I am calling for is a free for all, God governed community. Paul says quite clearly that we are to live, not for ourselves, but for the good of our brother. We have seen that and decided that therefore we should legislate what is good for our brother. We have built our chains to the specifications of the weaker links instead of the stronger links picking up the weaker links and showing them how to be strong. Can one family celebrate Christmas and one not? Of course. We have made this one of our community standards that we believe that we have been called to. We say quite freely that it is all right for some one to do this elsewhere but we have been called out of that and feel that it would divide our communities if we allowed it. What would divide our communities is the judgment passed on those who did and those who did not on each other! We need to get rid of the attitude that in order to have a community we must all have the be at the same place in our calling to God. We who have grown up in these communities had better be stronger than this, If we cannot see a woman in shorts and not think that she should not be a part of a community because of what she is wearing then we need to reread the New Testament. Is she moving in the highest way? Perhaps not, but are we moving in the highest way by judging her and telling her that she cannot wear those here because it might stumble some? Have we ever thought that we might have offended her? Maybe God has not shown that to her! We just acted like God to her and old her what He told us and made it a law to her. We did not strengthen her. We did not ring her closer to God. What we did was cause her to stumble. We made a law to bring her closer to God. God did not make that law. We did.

Let Us Be as God

We have made ourselves as God. We have said "Let us make God in our own image". We have justified it with scriptures that make it seem right, but we cannot escape the judgment that will follow unless we repent and turn from our ways. Our lists of written standards and unspoken standards are nothing more than our clumsy attempt to attain to Godliness. We have made the means the end. We have made the implementation of a Word of God the Word of God. Scripture is very clear what will happen to those who do this. We are practicing spiritual Baal worship. Our idols are not brass and stone but are every bit as real. God is calling a people who will not allow this to be the focus but who will allow Him to be the focus. Our eyes should be on Him at all times. If we look back away from him the consequences will be devastating. Our communities have been looking back and God is not going to keep calling us. We must begin to change our view or we will die. God will let us go on down our path until we run out of road and then he will bring in a new people who can hear Him and take the land He has promised. We are like the Israelites who took a brass serpent and made it the object of their worship instead of the One who gave them the brass serpent. We have tried to become as God and that is an abomination in His eyes. God will not allow it. He will soon tire of warning us and he will let us wander until we die and our sons and daughters will take the land that he promised to us. Wake up and hear Him calling. Hear the Word of the Lord. He has been calling you and you will not listen. Repent before God and he will hear you. Continue on at your own peril.

Order?

Do we need order? Yes We need order as to how the communities should be run. We need orders as to how the finances are to be run. We need orders concerning work schedules and management and the natural running of the communities. We need orders as laid out to the early church. We need to be bringing up new ministry from our own midst. We must not allow our personal preferences become the orders. If one has a skill in carpentry, let him take care of the woodworking department. Allow him to manage it for a time, then let the people decide if he has been doing the job he has been given. When we have grown large enough, elect a Board of Directors to oversee the managers. They will then be responsible for the conduct of the managers they put in place. They will be voted in or out according to the results of the people they put in management positions. Elders are responsible for the spiritual growth of the church. Allow them to do this. Give them all the respect deserved of a man of God. Have them accountable to the church for their conduct. If any are not conducting themselves according to Godly principles have them lay it down for a time. After a time, reconsider the appointment and have the church pray about it. If the church has a witness to that one moving as an elder again then let him move again. Appoint a spiritual father over the elders that they can turn to for advice. His voice is not law, but a word of wisdom. This person should be a person with the respect of the elders and the people. Orders for finance should be quite self explanatory. They should be made open and agreed on by all members of the community and all those who move to the community should agree to follow them. There can be no room for change unless all the embers agree to change them. Money is the one area that affects us all and if it is not managed correctly we won't eat. Major finance decisions should be brought to the attention of the church. Minor ones can be made at the elder, manager or board level. Allow God to show you which orders are essential to the running of a community. For some communities there may need to be orders concerning the use of community vehicles and for some there may be a need for orders concerning the speed driven in the camp. Not all the communities will have the same orders. What will be the same will be the complete lack of man-made laws that control the growth of God in a person. What will show to other people is the miracle that a group of people, so different, can see a vision so much the same. Will there be problems on these communities? Yes there will be. There will be people who leave, but they will not leave with a bitter spirit. They will leave with our blessing and they will be encouraged in their leading. God will honor the hearts of the people living here as long as they honor Him in their lives.

God's Government

God will never again govern his people by Law. He will govern them, ''By His Spirit". He will lead his people by their hearts, not by the nose. Those of you in leadership, let God move. If need be, lay down your leadership and allow God to bring in new leadership. Allow God to show you the way. Be sensitive to the hearts of the church. You cannot lead if no one is following. Don't look at the fork in the road and allow your mind to tell you which way to go. Follow God's voice and obey. Use God's word as your guide and His people as your conscience.

Conclusion

Let me end on a positive note. God has us out here for a very special purpose. He has led us out of many different backgrounds and brought us to a place where we can be a light to the world. We are to be a place where He can touch others through us in a very special way. He is leading us to train, teach and lead others to Him. We are on the threshold of a very special moving of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Our testimony will either be that we heard and obeyed or that we fell by the wayside. I pray that we will all hear God's voice and obey. His call for our life is far greater than any we could imagine for ourselves. We cannot measure the greatness of His love or contain the blessings that He has in store for those who follow Him. What a beautiful God we serve that He has allowed us to carry the torch in this portion of the race. God, help us not to falter as we press on in His purpose for our lives.

In Him,

David Smith

A piece of my history

My next post is a letter I wrote to the ministry at Shepherd's Inn about 10 years ago. I can't even remember if I ever gave it to then, I showed it to my parents and recently found it in some of my mom's papers. I post it here to let you all see what I was feeling then.

PLEASE remember that I was 10 years younger, 10 years less mature, and had 10 years less experience!! Please don't laugh too hard!

PS
I scanned this in so please forgive any typo's!

End of a Saga

As many of you know, there has been a legal dispute over Graham River Farm for several years. While this blog is not about the story here at Graham River Farm per se, it is about my relationship with the Move. If anyone had asked me when I moved out to Graham River Farm in 2001 if I would be involved in a legal dispute with the Move leadership for 6 years I would have laughed at them! It would not have seemed worth my time. There would have been sooo many other things that I would have rather have spent my time doing. But here we are 8 years later, tens of thousands in legal bills later, the proud owner of a mortgage on Graham River Farm.

Let me make one thing very clear. I DO NOT HOLD THE TITLE TO GRAHAM RIVER FARM!! Yeah, I am shouting!! This has been one of the misconceptions from the very beginning, that somehow, David & Susan were trying to get Graham River into their name so they could have their way with it.We are directors in a new society that owns the farm along with 3 others and we will be expanding the board in the near future to include others as well. (deeeeeep breath time!)

OK, you might ask, what does the Move have to do with the legal dispute at Graham River? Actually it has everything to do with it! The actions of the previous board, John Clarke, Ernest Watkins, Lee Wilkerson, and Elmer Gerber had nothing to do with personal gain. They were not in it for personal enrichment. In fact, I think if you asked any one of them, they would have rather robbed a bank than go thru this legal dispute if money was the motivation. There are a lot of easier ways to make money. No, the real motivation was the feeling that they had a responsibility to the founders of Graham River Farm to preserve the asset that they gave their lives for. Whether you believe that responsibility was misplaced or not, one cannot accuse them of acting for selfish gain. In fact, when the dust settles and the legal bills are all paid, I would be surprised it the financial gain is much more than any one of us could make in a year's wages! Sorta removes the financial aspect from the equation. Whoever gets the money, and there is lots of talk about where it is going to go, there isn't a whole lot to go around. Men do alot of things in the name of their particular religion, creed or belief system and the Move is no different. At the end of the day, Ernest Watkins, John Clarke and Lee Wilkerson are no better off financially then they were and yet they have the satisfaction of knowing that the asset that was Graham River Farm was properly paid for and the blood sweat and tears of those who gave their lives were accounted for.

Lest any of you think that I am letting these gentlemen off the hook entirely, let me say only this... Our differences were ones of moral and emotional and spiritual responsibility. We felt that to properly honor the sacrifices the founders of Graham River Farm made, we should ensure that the farm continued in Christian service. The other side felt that the money could be used to further the gospel in a far more impacting way and carry on the purposes that the founders gave everything to begin and establish. We felt that the sacrifices made to carve this property out of the wilderness were more than a financial investment, it was an investment of the heart and soul, one that could not be honored by placing it up for sale. We felt the purpose of Graham River Farm was never to be an asset, it was created to produce assets if you will, creating Son's of God and Warriors for the Kingdom. That is the legacy that we strove for, and the vision that we hold for Graham River Farm is to continue that legacy.

Where do we go from here? We are building a vision that hopefully fulfills what we believe is the heart and soul of what those who moved to Graham River Farm in the early 70's and then again in the early 90's gave their all for. A place where not only those in the Move, but also those outside of the Move can see as a place where God's life and spirit is visible and effecting a change in others.

There's That!

Dave

As we get older and hopefully wiser...

The preceding week I had the opportunity to attend 2 memorials . One was for a lady who gave her entire life to communities in The Move and that way of life and the other one was a man who gave his entire life to providing hospitality to those in The Move. Both were stalwart Christians, both were faithful to God, and both were happiest when surrounded with the brothers and sisters they called friends. My siblings and I sang at the last memorial and I was struck by the differences between the two who had passed on. One was a successful business man, the other was a dedicated mother and farmers wife. One routinely hosted the leaders of the move and the other spent her life hidden in the shadows of the communities in northern BC. And yet, the common tie that bound them together was a oneness in this group called "The Move" Both left legacies that will never be forgotten. The woman who lived her life on the northern communities and served others in loving and generous attitudes will be remembered best by the ones around her and those directly involved in her life. The other will be remembered by the leadership of The Move as one who spent his life being a facilitator for the move. Both served a vital role in this organization and will be sorely missed by all of us lucky enough to have able to have our lived touched by the Light in them. While our paths have led us down different paths and our choice of Christian fellowships are different, I can only hope that my life will be as much a testimony as these two great people.

Dave

Family & Friends

I went to a dinner this evening in Fort St. John where the main speaker was a friend of mine who grew up on the farms. He had a message geared towards men and their role as a father and leaders in the home. One of the things he said really hit home and reminded me of one of the areas that The Move had it right and wrong at the same time. While encouraging family life and promoting the family unit, it kept the families so busy with community life that the individual family was amalgamated into the larger 'family' of the community. Fathers were encouraged to be the head of the home but in practice, they were usually so busy that the all the men became fathers. As it was permissible, perhaps even encouraged, for any parent to discipline the children, the role of the natural father was diminished. The fathers heart, that part of most men that calls us to provide for, protect, and cherish the natural family unit, was swallowed up by the call to provide those same traits for the community at large. While this provided for a great amount of leadership in the community, it left the family unit lacking. My childhood was spent looking to many men for the leadership that would have been filled by one man in a 'normal' home.

This leads me to the other side of the same coin. I had the advantage of having the example of many great men in my formative years. Men like Harold Witmer, Bob Guibord Sr., Lenny Schnare, Ray Dix, and many others. My childhood was filled with so many great examples of Godly men that I find it easier today to be a father to my own children. There were the nutballs as well, to be sure, but I choose to remember and pattern my life after the good. My wife made the wise statement tonight as we were driving home, "We should spend more time looking for the good in others and less time complaining about the bad". (Yeah, I know, I paraphrased it, Sue, but if I got it wrong, leave it in the comments!!)

My sincere thanks to Steve for pointing my heart towards home tonight and reminding me of my role as a father.

Thats that.

A Kids Dream

What I really wanted to do with this blog was to relate my experiences in the move. While the negative side was always there, I would really like to focus more on what I felt was a rich and rewarding experience. Now before you go and get on your high-horse yelling about how you had such a hard time and how could I disagree with you etc, remember, THIS IS MY BLOG. Go write your own and I will leave lots of comments on it!!

When we moved to Graham River I was 5 years old. We lived on the north side of the river for what seemed like an eternity while our cabin was being built. I cannot remember at any time during this period that I felt anything but excitement. Watching our house being built, being butted around by old Abraham, the billy goat, and generally just growing up free to do what ever I wanted was an awesome way to begin my Move experience. While it was to get rougher later on and even painful, the beginning years were a ball. Camping trips with Lenny Schnare & Bob Guibord, story time on Bob & Gloria's bed (Were there any tassels left on that bedspread?!) and fishing to our hearts content were some of the activities that I remember with envy and nostalgia. Watching my brother trying to 'train' his hair for hours by the stove with a comb and warm water and popcorn nights with Betty Ruth Bowles. These are the fond memories that warm my heat to this day. I can look back on these days as some of the best of my life. No guns at school, no drugs(that I knew of anyways!) no beatings, and no work! what could be better?! I remember splitting wood on Saturday mornings with all the other boys. I should clarify that, I was only allowed to stack because I was too slow with the axe or the more responsible among us figured I would chop off my hand or worse!! No axe for me until much later. I never considered Saturday mornings work. We had a group of boys that could do a PILE of wood and manage to carry out elaborate pranks at the same time! There was the time that one of the older boys, Mike Herman I believe, hit a softball thru the dining hall window during our evenng baseball game. Or the times when stilts were all the rage and Bobby Guibord was traipsing around on 8 foot stilts! I was always a pansy and never graduated past the 1 foot ones!

I could go on and on. Times like these formed the foundation to what was to become my childhood in The Move. I like to think that they also helped form who I am today. When I look out at the courtyard now and see the paths still indented in the lawn, all leading to the east entrance of the tabernacle, memories come flooding back. They are without exception, good memories. My troubles with The Move came later on in life when I was old enough to question things. As a child, I lived a life that could only be imagined or written about in a story book. I truly think I lived a 'Kids Dream'

Thats That

Human Nature

I have gotten a fair bit of response about my use of the phrase 'human nature'. Most wondered if I was excusing what happened by blaming it on human nature. I guess I should define what I mean by human nature and while I am not sure if this is the textbook definintion, it is what I was talking about.

Human nature, to me, is the base desires of mankind. These can include hunger for power, the need to survive, the need for domination over others, etc. None of which are bad in themselves. But what happens, and not only in the move, is that some folks take these 'human natures' and lose their self control and give in to them in excess. One only has to look at the average politician to see this in action. Or to look at the preachers who have landed in jail (and some who haven't!!) to see this in action. Are there good politicians? Yeah, I think so. Are there good preachers? I really do think that there are. But all of them have to battle the desires that are in most of us to maintain an demeanor and deportment that allow them to succeed in life without abusing those around them.

This is where The Move fell down in my opinion. Where there were abuses, no one had the desire or willpower to stand up for the abused. I lay the blame primarily on the parents who allowed it and when they were informed, did nothing or tried to whitewash it. I also feel that the elders on the communities need to accept a large portion of the responsibility for the lack of accountibility for what happened. At the very least, they should seek out those who were abused and apologize on behalf of the leadership in place at the time. Unfortunately, the chances of this happening on a move-wide scale are slim. Some elders have sought out individuals and made things right, but to my knowledge, most have not.

So where does this leave me? I was abused. I also was taken advantage of, had my trust broken and generally lived the life of a kid in The Move. I have been able to rise above it and move on in life. I was blessed with a emotional constitution that allowed me to do this. I also had a loving family that was not a part of the abuse and was a shelter to me. For so many in The Move this was not the case and injuries are still healing or in some cases, are still open and bleeding. I cannot even imagine what that is like and will not try to assume to know what their life is like. It is easy for me to say,' Get over it and move on', because that is what I did. For some that apparently is not an option and I am in no position to judge them. While I do believe that 'getting over it' is essential to healing, I do not have the answer for those who cannot. I can hope and pray for you if you are one who is still hurting and angry.

I hope this clears up my use of that phrase. I do not mean to belittle what many of my generation went thru.

There, thats that!