Wounded Spirits (Part Three) - Kaarina Maki

This is the third and final part of an overall theme of bullying. The topic was discussed April 13th at Crossroads during the annual Youth Night. To read Wes's click here or to read Katie's click here.  This one was written by Kaarina Maki, a student here at Crossroads. 

            I’m sure we can all relate to Katie and Wes’s stories of bullying in one way or another. Some of us are being bullied, some of us are bullies, and some of us are both. Like Martin Luther implied in his teachings, we are at once the saint and sinner. When it comes to bullying, though, this can be changed, though. It needs to be changed!
            We are all wounded spirits. I read this in Frank Peretti’s book, The Wounded Spirit, and it makes sense. Nobody has lived a perfect life; one without some sort of hardship or another. Bullying doesn’t always manifest itself in outright teasing. Sometimes it comes from the comments or implications of others. We are spirits that are wounded and spirits that wound others. Why do we do this, though? Nobody benefits from it!
            Those spirits that are wounded, they get hurt. They start to believe that God has turned His back on them, and that they are lesser than the other creations of God because of their imperfections. God gives us these imperfections, though, because they make us unique. I’ll give you an example. I have a freckle on my arm, and when I was younger I didn’t like it. I thought it was ugly, and some kids teased me for it. Now, though, I know that God has given me this freckle because it allows me to share something with my grandmother. My grandmother had the exact same freckle in the same place on her arm. This imperfection allows me to believe that my grandmother is watching over me, and that she is with me.
            There’s something more important to remember if you feel as though you are a wounded spirit: This is NOT your fault. You are not being hurt because you did something wrong. Sometimes we go through these difficult times, and it is hard, but maybe these difficult times remind us of the power of God. Right now, we are learning about Job in service. He had everything taken from him, even though Job was a good person. Yes, God allowed him to suffer, but did He ever leave Job? No, He didn’t! God was with Job through His suffering, and He is with the wounded spirit in their time of suffering. These difficult times may even strengthen your relationship with God even more than it is now!
            I know my relationship with God was strengthened when I went through a difficult time. It felt like bad things just kept on happening, and for the first time in a long time, I had a choice: to take time and think about my faith, or continue blindly with my faith, and believe that God would take care of me. Unfortunately, I chose to take time from my faith. This led me down a path of unhappiness, and I felt like I lost purpose with my life. I talked to Tammy about it, and she gave me a lot to think about afterwards. At that moment, I had a choice: to walk down a path without God, or go back to the beginning and choose blind faith, letting God take care of my soul. I chose to stick with God. I returned to Crossroads, slowly but surely, and now my relationship with God is the strongest it has ever been.
            Now, for those spirits who wound; those who wound the spirits of others can be forgiven, and are forgiven! Remember Luther: we are saints and sinners at the same time. But instead of continuing to use this as justification for bullying, why not use your gifts from God in a helpful way?
            Are you strong? Instead of pushing another kid down, use the strength that God has given you to lead a sports team to victory. Even better, use that strength to lift others up! Tell someone they did a good job during a presentation, or volunteer at an event of some sort. Are you smart? Don’t use that gift to create a mean prank against someone; use it to get good grades, and perhaps you can tutor others who struggle with schoolwork. These gifts are from God! Instead of using them against creations of God, just like you, take those gifts to help others.
            The most important thing, though, is forgiveness. I know that this can be a difficult thing to do. Why would we want to forgive those who hurt us? Why would God forgive me for my bullying? Why can’t God justify getting even?
All of these questions, while valid, completely miss the point of forgiveness: it’s another gift from God! It’s a gift from God to be forgiven, and it’s a gift to be able to forgive others and treat them the way we want to be treated. We all have this gift inside us.
When I discussed communion in my confirmation class last week, I told Pastor Tammy that my interpretation of communion is this: when we eat the bread and dip it in the wine, we are taking in Jesus, and by making his spirit and our body one, we are forgiven. Now, imagine if you went to the same church as your bully, and you had to watch them take communion like you have. This might hurt, or be difficult to understand. How can they be allowed to be forgiven when they hurt me?
Well, they are receiving that gift of forgiveness, which is probably something that they secretly long for. But it can’t end with communion; someone has to help in this process of forgiveness, and that’s where your gift comes in. By forgiving that bully, you are respecting that person, that creation of God, and you are respecting yourself by using your gift from God in a positive way. When you forgive others, you are filling your life with love and kindness, and isn’t that what God wants for all of us? I forgave myself for turning away from God, and now I can look at it as a crucial moment in my spiritual life. For others, they can forgive themselves and whoever may be hurting them, and use it as a moment of clarity and learning in their lives. That moment can teach them a lot about God’s infinite love, and how it feels.
I want to end with this: when you look at the person to your left and right, they are the same as you in that they are a creation of God. If you bully that person, you are hurting a creation of God. If you are the one being bullied, you are not alone. God is with you. You’re His creation, and He is with every one of His works of art.

 Thank you!


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