I tape Oprah, just in case she has a good show.  My husband calls her show “the gospel of Oprah” with all of her worshipers in the audience.  Occasionally, she does have a good show and I’d like to talk about one I saw the other day.
She had a woman on whose husband set her on fire.  It was frankly shocking and absurd that their relationship would come to that.  And he did it in a public place while she was at work.  No shame.
This woman said some interesting things though that started me thinking.  She said she was a confident person.  After he beat her, she protected him by wearing sunglasses and long sleeves.  Her parents had a good marriage and never argued.  Her family knew about the beatings, but never thought it was THAT bad.  This was her second abusive relationship.
Some of those things don’t jive, but that’s the funny thing with abuse; the absurd works overtime.  Sisters, abuse happens.  And it’s all around us, in our neighborhoods, sometimes even in our own families.  Abuse includes sexual, physical and mental, and many forms and levels of each of these.  None are acceptable.  If you are involved in any of these forms of abuse—GET OUT!  Tell someone and free yourself of this awful secret. 
If you know or suspect any abuse happening, DO SOMETHING! 
You know, Visiting Teachers have access to a lot of homes all over the world.  Granted, people hide everything from Visiting Teachers, don’t they?   The house is clean, the smile is in place, there usually aren’t any “needs”.   And if we’re being honest, Visiting Teachers usually don’t even want to be there half the time. 
Shouldn’t we, as sisters, be more watchful over one another?  How would we feel if some horrible family secret came out and the Visiting Teacher had to admit, “I had no idea!” 
If I have a responsibility over someone, I would hope my desire for friendship is sincere.  By visiting regularly, I gain a trust.  By asking her questions about herself, we start feeling a connection with each other.  By sharing a spiritual message, she feels the Spirit, which draws comfort and more trust. 
I may not be a trained counselor or a professional fixer of problems, but I have arms, and I know how to use them.   I may not have all the answers, but I’m a good listener.  I may not be perfect in my Visiting Teaching, but my sisters know I love them. 
We all have challenges we’re dealing with.  And I think we all sometimes need to know there is support available to us.  Sometimes we’re dealing with things that are big and huge and need outside help.  Most of the time we need validation and just a good friend we can be honest and open with.