I was talking to a friend this morning and she was telling about a coworker of hers who is really going through a rough time. I asked if I could share the story. She said, “If you look at her, you would think she’s a lesbian. Because of what she has gone through, she hides behind misleading appearances. She doesn’t know the true beauty she possesses because she was violated as a child.”
Her story began when she was 4 years old. She remembers because it was tragic. When tragic incidences occur in your life, you will either remember or blot them out. She remembers, though very young.
She was molested by her dad, someone who should have loved and protected her. She wouldn’t tell it because she thought it was her fault, which is common in abused victims. She came to the conclusion that her dad wouldn’t love her any more if she told. Imagine carrying something around like that into your adult life. She has never had the chance to be a child because that was taken away. She works and is very good at what she does. Outside of work, all she wants to do is sleep. Her prayer has been, “Lord, don’t let me wake up.” She inflicts pain on herself by cutting herself. This is because she still believes the devil’s lie. She passes by a certain hotel and will say something like, “that’s a bad hotel” due to the abuse she experienced there. Not only at the hand of her dad did she experience abuse, but her dad allowed other men to abuse her as well.
She comes from a well-to-do family. Her dad has a prominent position in society. When she has tried to tell it, in the past the response had been, “We’ve had a good life, a good family, don’t ruin that.” How could life be good at the expense of an abused child? That tells me, it wasn’t that they didn’t believe her, the family’s name and their good life, as they call it, was at state. It showed what they valued most. Her mind is stuck in her childhood living day to day barely functioning outside of work. Iam sure she pours herself into her work to not remember.
My friend does not know her well at all. God has allowed my friend to minister to her spirit. We as God’s people have to be more sensitive to the spirit of God. Someone out there needs to tell their story or needs to hear yours. There are people like her who needs to know there is hope and there is one who can love all the pain and hurt away. We have to be able to tell someone like Rev. Clay Evans sings in his song, ‘Reach beyond the break and hold on.’
I’m back on this attitude thing again. My Bishop said on this past Sunday, speaking of my church, “Some of our attitudes stink.” I have friends like this. I have to sometimes tell them about themselves.(smile) They still love me…. Let’s work on ourselves. My prayer has always been, God show me, Me! If God lets me see my flaws, it will keep me humble and make me understand just how much I need Him.
We are about to move into our new facility. Praise be to GOD. But, our move is not about a state of the art facility, nor about the size to increase capacity. It’s more about how will we love and show Jesus out of genuine concern for the many souls that will come through those doors. We are about to encounter people from all walks of life. All will have a story to tell, all will have a past, just like you and me. For all we know, some will be suicidal, some on the verge of giving up but have decided I’m going to try this one more time. There will be adults who will come and due to a tragic past, they are stuck in childhood or whatever era of their lives that prevented them from moving on. Let’s not forget about the many children who will come to enjoy a few hours of just being a real child as we teach them about the love of Jesus. They just want the ‘boogie man to just go away. What we do in those few hours can have a lasting effect on the lives of these children and the adults who are hurting. It may very well be a turning point for some. It’s up to us to show the love of Christ. They MUST know that whatever their past has been, it does not predict their future. Let’s pray for discernment, that we may intercede and possibly intervene through the love God. Let it truly be known of us that we are His by our love for one another. Be Blessed!
The LORD, (YAHWEH) loves you and so do I.
Have blessed day
Angela
