"I
felt a hand reach underneath my blue skirt."
Have
you ever been violated? No one has the right to violate you physically ‑‑
not your father, your stepfather, a friend, a boyfriend, a teacher, even a
doctor. Your body is the vessel of the Holy Spirit. It is holy. No one has the
right to de file you to meet his own needs, whether it be for sex, power, or
control.
If
someone touches you inappropriately, you should report it. Don't let guilt keep
you from doing the right thing. That's called false guilt.
Your
body should be kept pure before God. Someday, as a young woman, you will
probably get married, unless God has given you the gift of singleness. You will
want to give a body to your husband that's pure, that's never been touched or
looked upon or used. Not only does that mean sexually, but you should preserve
your body and keep it from being harmed by illicit drugs and underaged
drinking. You may not know it, but all these things will hurt you in more ways
than you realize.
Along
the same lines, don't go to websites you shouldn't go to. Don't look at
pornography. All these things will give you a corrupted way of looking at sex
and love. No longer with these things be beautiful, but there will be a sense
of dirtiness and vulgar. What God created to be something beautiful between a
man and a woman becomes perverted to the point of disgust. Guard your heart. If
someone does something to you that makes you feel uncomfortable, that is God's
way of speaking to you, warning you that a boundary has been crossed that is
inappropriate. Don't sit idly by and allowing this kind of abuse to continue. .
If you're young, it's against the law and the offender can go to jail. If
you're not so young that it's against law, you're old enough to know you've
been violated and seek help.
Shale's
way of dealing with this is not the appropriate way to handle it. If you're
like Shale and you don't have anyone to turn to, go on the web or look in the
newspapers for crisis counseling centers in your area. Contact a church. Don't
let yourself continue to be victimized. If you don't do something, it will
continue and God has better plans for you than this. Remember, God loves you.
Seek out a safe person you can talk to, but sometimes it's up to you to take
that first step. Pray and ask God to show you what to do. God will never let you
down.
Romans
12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is
your spiritual service of worship."
Even if you have been violated, it's not too
late to do something about it. With God is healing and redemption. Do something
today and take that first step to get help.
Even if you feel embarrassed by the situation,
don't let that keep you from reporting it. God doesn't want you to live in
guilt or shame ‑‑ trust in him and get help.
"I'm fine." I smiled, pretending
nothing had happened.
How
many times are we offended by someone or something and we pretend that it
didn't happen. Does that make the pain go away? Pretending that something
bother us is trying to live in denial. It doesn't work. If we live in denial
about something, we are limiting our future. How can God use us if we're living
in denial? Denial about our past, what's happened to us, minimizing our
hurts ‑‑ you can't help someone else if you have never dealt with your own
hurts and pains. God is in the business of healing. He specializes in it. Allow
him to come into your heart and bring you healing. Find someone you can share
your pain with ‑‑ don't live in shame and humiliation. God has better
plans for you.
Jesus
went through the shame and humiliation of the cross so you wouldn't have to
live in shame an humiliation. That was his burden to bear, not yours. Lay this
burden at the base of the cross and rejoice that Jesus can carry this burden
for you.
First
Peter 5:7 says," Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on him
because he cares for you."