Dear Hurting,
You wonder how I know your name – oh, it’s written all over you. You’ve been hurt, and no matter how you try to mask your wounds, you are hurting.
I see you.
I completely understand why you would resent “Christians” and maybe even God himself.
Who could blame you? You didn’t deserve what happened to you, and you don’t deserve what’s happening now.
Years come and go. It’s been a while since you experienced that first hurt. But you’ve never forgotten the horrid sensation, and you are determined that to never let it happen again.
What’s worse, is that the people who are supposed to be “the good ones” do nothing but judge you. They judge you because all they see are your actions – actions that speak clearly of the pain you’ve endured. Pain that now lives behind doors of arrogance, independence, and numbness to anything representative of that “god person” who people rant and rave about.
This probably doesn’t mean much coming from me, a stranger who rants about God on the daily; but, the people whom you knew and trusted were a misrepresentation of Christ, to say the least.
Jesus’ sole purpose and desire for you is that you would know His love. A true love. It’s a love that doesn’t inflict cruel pain. A love that only brings joy. A love that lasts forever.
Deep down inside, you knew there was something wrong about the kind of love that you were shown.
I’m here to tell you: you were right. That isn’t what love looks like.
It isn’t what actual Christianity looks like. And it definitely isn’t what Jesus looks like.
Dear Hurting, I want you to know that your deep wounds are not too deep.
You are not a lost cause.
When you first take steps to heal, it will probably feel uncomfortable. You’ll be uncovering bumps and bruises that you thought were gone; the truth is, they were merely bandaged up, never properly dealt with.
The pain you’ll feel in revisiting the circumstances that caused your scars is only temporary. It’s like rubbing alcohol on a cut – it burns like crazy at first, but the sting is well worth the long term benefits, like protection from bacteria, infection, amputation, and even death.
Allow the Holy Spirit to be your rubbing alcohol.
Dear Hurting, I apologize.
I apologize for ignoring you, for judging you, for hurting you.
You probably never expected to hear that – especially from me, one of those who caused you the most pain. I apologize on behalf of all Christians who failed at showing you the powerful and unrelenting love of the Father. I apologize that they left you to do life alone after simply diagnosing your “issues”.
It hurts. It hurts like crazy, huh? To be rejected, lost, confused, abused, abandoned, afraid, and in the midst of all that, alone.
I don’t want to make excuses for why we sometimes lack compassion. I know that some of us seem to live a life completely opposite of what our Bible teaches us. I can’t make any excuses because there are none.
But it hurts me almost as much as it hurts you – and it hurts God even more.
Finally, Hurting, I can not heal you.
No person can. And anyone who tells you they can is lying. Don’t trust them. They’ll only leave you in more pain.
If they’re not speaking truth and walking in love and only pointing you to the true One who can heal you – don’t trust them.
They are like wolves in sheep’s clothes – our common enemy’s weapon of choice. They’re not the real thing.
The only one who can heal you, redeem you, change your heart, forgive your sin, and make your future more abundant than you could have imagined is Jesus – a love greater than any love you’ll ever know.
I’m sorry. Sorry that these aren’t the words you’ve always been told. I’m sorry that they told you they could fix you, give you all the right answers, heal you.
Dear Hurting, will you forgive us?
Dear Hurting, will you let LOVE heal you?
Kristina Smith. At 31 years old, I still have the faith of a child. I’m obsessed with love and all the power that it yields when given & received in its most pure, raw, organic, & natural form.
Currently residing in the on & popping city of Gainesville, GA (see: sarcasm), I work for Adventures in Missions, a non-profit Christian missions organization, and am committed to unveiling hidden potential in the missionaries that I disciple.
Instagram: @krissi1908
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