Scarlet Question Mark

Were you ever assigned to read, "The Scarlet Letter"? I remember having to read it in elementary school. Not sure of what grade, but I know it was before Junior High. In the story, a lady has an affair and becomes pregnant. She is forced to wear a scarlet letter on her clothing. She wears an "A" for adultery. Every place she goes, she wears this big red A. After I left the church, friends asked me to come and visit where they were going to church. A few of them were in positions of ministry and thought the best thing for me would be to jump right back in and serve with more fervor. I received pity rather than understanding. The other churches I attended were okay until the friend introduced me to the pastor or someone in leadership. "This is my friend, Dave". I'd shake hands with whoever and tell them it was nice to meet them. Then the unavoidable would happen. "Oh, yeah. He used to be a youth pastor." I felt like my friend had just pinned a scarlet question mark to my chest. The typical response was either a "really" or "why aren't you any more?". I could see the gears turning. "What did this guy do? Did he leave or was he removed? Why is he here at my church? What does he want?" I would usually explain Jen's condition and tell them that it was too much to do. They acted like there was more to my story, but said something like, "Well its nice to have you visiting with us today." Other places were wanting to jump right in and start serving that day. It was hard to find a place to go and not have to give an answer for something you didn't do. Nick and I started church shopping. Trying out churches where we could hide. Hopefully one that provided good, solid biblical teaching. Some did. Others failed. We tried the bigger churches in the area as well as some not so big. It took a while to find one that we could return to more than one Sunday in a row.