You Are Surrounded

Welcome to Trace’s Space.  I recently read an article from Focus On The Family on the “ Me Too” campaign.  For those of you who are not familiar the campaign desires to bring attention to those who have been sexually assaulted.  I had been seeing those two words, “Me Too” all over social media but had not yet gotten the jest of what it was about, and this article was full of information on the movement.
So research shows that we are surrounded by folks that have been victims of sexual assault, whether it be physically, or mentally, including sexual harassment.  While this study focused mostly on women, commentors on the article brought attention to men who have also suffered from sexual assault.
So the word surrounded kept tugging at my heart.  And God put this little thing into my mind and I shared it on the book, but I believe it is definitely to be shared on my blog, it’s deeply personal, but it’s truth, so here it is.

Sometimes those things in the depth of your soul, even though they are covered and the shame removed are still too fresh!
You are surrounded...

See shame is a funny thing.  We can be ashamed of that which we have done, but we also can be ashamed because of the things done to us.  You know those things that we thought we had a handle on, those things we thought God has expelled from our hearts, but deep down it’s still there.  You know those things we own because we allowed ourselves to get ourselves into a tough spot.  We find ourselves being surrounded, not only by others, but by that thing that happened.
It’s personal.
Her friends told her not to go.  Alcohol and pride were the motivator, the ugliness of the evening was not only environmental (it was raining) but so was the outcome.  She was assaulted by someone she knew, and when it was over he took her back to her car and acted like it never happened.
For years she acted like it never happened.  Sometimes she still does.  She blamed herself, never did she blame him.  Even when she shared that dark deep secret with her husband, and he wanted to hurt him, she took ownership.  She surrounded herself with guilt and pain.
Surrounded...
It’s personal.
While in our minds we know God can heal the wounds, our hearts still feel the violation.  Then we go through life constantly struggling with trust issues among other things.
It’s personal.
Me too!
God is faithful, while we may not see this in our suffering, He is.
I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.  He is my defender, my rock and fortress. And He can be that for you too.
Even as Christians we find ourselves not only being surrounded, but also being those who surround.
All we can do sometimes is pray, and press on.
So today Lord we pray, we pray for peace in our souls! Amen.
See you next time.