While shopping you always see one girl that stands out. One girl that seems to be searching for that perfect thing. There is always one girl, walking about, with her shoulders curved and her make up dark. If you look close enough you can see her pain. You can see the burden she carries as she walks.It is almost as though she walks silently through each aisle. She picks up each item, just touching, never purchasing anything. She searches the aisles for that one thing to make her smile, but nothing seems to fit. Nothing is the right color. Nothing is the right size. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
She dreams as she looks around at the other shoppers with bags full and laughter echoing. She watches other families as they shop. You can see her watching them, wondering, "What is it like? What is it like to have a mother like that? To have a sister like that? To carry a little brother on your hip?" She doesn't say anything, she just simply watches, wanting and in search of something to fill her. A something. A anything to make her feel loved. To make her feel important. To make her feel needed.
She has learned to hide all her scars. She simply buries them deep within. So deep, she tries to forget the pain, but the pain remains. She cannot escape yesterday no matter how much she dreams about tomorrow.
This girl knows loss. She is the girl you see everywhere you go. She is lonely and she is calling out, but no one seems to notice her. No one sees the pain she is hiding. She wonders, "Does anyone really care? Why can't anyone see me?" All she wants is to feel loved. To be accepted. But she is hidden from our view. We turn away from her so often. We walk the other way. We turn into another aisle. Why? Why can't we see her? We simply don't want to. If we reach out to her we too then must see our own pain. We must let go of our yesterday before we see an other's. We are so use to hiding our own pain, we soon become numb to an other's pain. We dull the feeling by ignoring what we see. We tell ourselves it's okay not to notice. Someone else will care for her. Someone else will reach out.
But what happens? She leaves the store, only to go home in silence. She pulls into her drive way and only wishes she was somewhere else. Another time and another place. As she walks into the door she prays things will be different. She prays God will hear her prayers. But there it is again. The screaming. The fighting. The emptiness of love in a home. The love that makes a house a home. She goes into her room. She takes out her little knife and begins to cut. She begins to cut herself where only she knows it's there. She wants the pain to leave. She wants healing. She wants peace. She wants her mother to stop hitting her. She wants her father to stop drinking. She wants her brother to stop touching her. She wants the kids at school to like her. She wants a boy to notice her beyond her body. She wants a friendship with another to last. She wants all the hurt to stop. She stays in her room. She waits for darkness, but only sadness is there. She reaches for morning, but there to is a pain deep within that she cannot escape from.
Where is this girl? She is sitting in the pews of your church. She is walking the halls of your school you attend everyday. She is at the games on Friday night as you cheer the team on. She is at the local grocery, checking out customers, wishing she too could fall in a bag and simply wake up in another home. Another town, just anywhere, but where she is.
She sees her mistakes. She sees life as never changing. She sees pain in others. For she knows what it looks like. She knows that look in an other's eye that holds a quiet thunder.
As she is dreaming of another day and time, there is One who reaches out to her. There is One who sees her pain. There is One who sends another to rescue her. There is One who loves her more than she knows. All it takes is one willing vessel. All it takes is for one person, not afraid to reach out to another and ask questions. All it takes is for one person to look beyond themselves. She needs someone brave. She needs a hero. She needs someone to step out and see her for who she really is. Will you be that person? Will you reach out beyond yourself? Will you look into her eyes for more than one minute and see her hurting soul?
Jesus sees her life. He sees her crying at night. Is it you He is calling to reach her? Is it you that He needs to be His hands and feet? I know it is me. I know I am to do more than to just see myself and live this life for me. I am to be a light in this dark world. I am to live a life of faith. I am to reach others for Him. Jesus did a mighty work with just twelve. Jesus can do a mighty work with just one willing soul. Will you? Will you go? Will you take that step? I will go wherever You call, Jesus. Yes, I pray that I can see her, Jesus.
"Is there any encouragement form belonging to Christ? Any comfort from His love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Than make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."
Philippians 2:1-5
"Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God."
Ephesians 5:1-2
