God Works Magazine - May-June 2024 - Flipbook - Page 31
Hi!
My name is Katie Denise HargravesJenkins.
I survived years of molestation and rape, started
at 5 years old and lasted until I was 14 years old. I
survived losing three of my children in a house
ore. I can't begin to even describe the mental anguish I felt. I survived the loss of my baby brother,
whom I raised like he was my child. He was 28
years old at the time of his passing.
I was a very broken child, and those who were
supposed to protect me left me to the wolves. My
mother was wild, young, and would leave me for
days at a time. Many times, it would be my grandparents rescuing me from hunger, mental, physical, and sexual abuse. I can't remember being
happy as a child; in fact, I have permanent tear
lines. I can recall myself saying as a child, "I can't
wait to get grown and move out of this house."
The very orst time I was abused, it was by a family
friend. My grandfather would sometimes not
come home, and my grandmother would have to
walk 8-10 miles to work. So, my grandmother
asked this young man to sit with me until she returned home. He introduced me to a game called
"licking the lollipop." This went on for a month or
so. One day I tried to play the game with my
brother, and my grandmother walked in before I
could commit the act, but she knew what I was
about to do. I remember getting a whipping, and
after my grandmother calmed down, she asked
me who had taught me that. She called his name,
and I nodded, "Yes, ma'am." The next morning,
she waited on the porch as she did every morning.
I could see him coming up on his bike. My grandmother confronted him with a black gun, and I
heard her say, "If I didn't know your mother so
well, I would kill you." He never said a word, taking his feet moving the bike backwards, and just
like that, he was gone. I was 5 years old, and I believe he was about 19 years old because he wasn't
in school. I still remember the whipping I got 54½
years later.
May/June 2024 | God Works Magazine | 31
