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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