We shine on!
Submitted by Once a Boy on November 04 2000 15:26:23
In reply to Re: Do we let shame condem us or do we shine on? submitted by Alliecat on November 04 2000 06:40:58
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I am a little confused. I think Joe was hurt many times by the beatings his father did to the boy I came to love. He also witnessed many beatings on his mother and the rest of his family. I am not perfect and am sure to have hurt Joe with my failings. However, I think I have helped to build Joseph up many times (with God's help, of course). I've been in the wilderness. At age 11, my home burned down leaving me orphaned. I lost everything in the fire but the clothes on my back. The fireman gave me some water wrinkled pictures. I moved in to a relatives home, and this move made me lose all my friends. In a real sense, I lost the world I knew. In this wilderness, I cried myself to sleep every night for three years. During the worst years in my life, I had sex with a younger cousin, drank heavily, and even hated God. Hmm, then in the deepest dark, there was a great light. It became clear that God heard my cry. You state Jesus did not spend His entire life in the wilderness and neither have I. However, I know life well. There will be a time when I will enter the wilderness again. God has many lessons to teach those He loves. God has helped me in more ways than I could ever describe in this posting. He has answered many prayers in my life, and I have had many miracles occur. For me, it is clear that God loves me despite my past and future sins. I hope I never hurt a child, but if it were to happen, God can raise the child up despite my failings. He also will build me up despite my sin. We all hurt from the loss of a loved one, from a parent who was not perfect, and from our own guilt for things we have done wrong. Who lifts us up when we hurt? Who helps us to forgive others who have hurt us? Who helps to build us up and shine on despite our guilt and despite our pain? Here's a Bible quote I find uplifting, "For I know the plans God has for you. They are plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope." ~Jerimiah 29:11 Why can't we trust God to make our interactions with boys be a positive experience? In reading the posts, here, one thing is clear...there are many who love boys deeply. They can build up boys and not tear them down. I have faith that God can show them a way to use this "cross" as a way to love a boy in a way that is pleasing to God. God will bless these relationships and make some great things occur in the lives of boys, the men who love them, and the world. ~Once a boy |
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