Journal of Sacred Work

Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime.         – Herbert Ward

   I was a small child. It was the darkest hour of night. Suddenly, a man burst into my room and attacked me. I awoke in terror.
   Fortunately, it was just a dream. But, planted forever in me is the memory of how I felt after I re-entered reality, my heart racing, my body shaking. Then, the sweet blanket of relief that settled upon me as I recognized I lived in a home with loving parents, that I lived in an environment where I could feel safe from such horrible attacks. I have never forgotten the terror of that moment nor the relief that followed. How must it feel to go to bed never knowing if you will be yanked into a violent reality?
   It is a great gift to grow up feeling safe. All of our children need this gift…

   A shocking number of the world’s young will never know this feeling of safety. The long shadow of the abuse they suffer will live with them across their lives, sometimes making it difficult for them, when they become parents, to create love and safety for their own offspring.

  One of the most insidious aspect of abuse is its unpredictability. During my years as a judge, lawyer, volunteer probation officer and healthcare leader, I have sat close to both victims and perpetrators of abuse. I have listened to victims speak of their abuse and I have listened to perpetrators describe their regrets over the horrible terror they have inflicted on their own children. "It happened to me as child." some have told me. "I never thought I would do the same thing to my own child and I can’t understand how it happened."
   So many of us repeat patterns we learned from our parents as children. Now, the Baptist Healing Trust that I lead supports charities that strive to help both victims and their abusers. The questions are always the same: How can the children be helped? How can the cycle of abuse be broken?
   Today offers an opportunity for you to pray for all those caught in the turbulence of hate. It is also an opportunity to recognize the caregivers who devote their lives to helping the hurt. Theirs is the opportunity to meet the fist of violence with with the courageous face of love.
   No one wants to think about a horrible subject like child abuse. Only a handful of us are brave enough to dedicate a life’s work to introducing love where hate is thriving. Caregivers know that it does no good to shake our fingers at abusers.
   Everyone needs help in order for Love to reign triumphant. The best way to prevent child abuse is to promote loving relationships. This is the only way to replace the shadow of abuse with the light of joy.   
   All children deserve the gift of growing up in safety.