Every
morning I pray for crime victims who have lost their lives to child sexual
violence, sexual assault, domestic violence, and all other violent crimes. Then, I pray for survivors, loved ones, and
all who serve them wholeheartedly like therapists, clergy, and nonprofit
volunteers. I ask God to bless them with
justice, peace, and continued healing, so their legacy and their lives may far
surpass their hopes and dreams.
I pray God shatters
their darkness and melts away their uncontrollable and horrifying thoughts and
emotions about the criminal assault they suffered as well as the exploding flashbacks all constantly swirling around inside them and making them repeatedly re-live every tortuous moment as if it's happening again. I ask Him to grant them
rest for their weary bodies turned into war zones where they struggle to
survive moment by moment.
I pray for
God to melt away their misery along with their worldly fears, anxieties, and
everything else that keeps them from Him.
I ask God to melt it all away and draw it to the center of the earth
where it disintegrates into nothingness.
Then, I pray He melts their hearts with His sweet, gentle, overflowing love. The kind of love that makes you cry after a
long embrace from a dear loved one.
I pray they finally
hear Him softly whisper, “I love you.
You are mine. I am here for you
until the end of time.” I imagine their
hearts melt and tears well up as they also hear, “All you have to do is call
out or speak to me in the silence of your heart. And, when you don’t even have the strength to
do that, just ache for me. Close your
eyes, look for me, and you will find me.
For I live inside you waiting for you to let me love you. Let me love you. Let me love you. Let me love you.”
Then, I
imagine them opening their hearts and their eyes, and seeing God’s boundless world
of all possibilities even if it’s pitch black outside and all around them. Smiling and filled with hope, I imagine they increase in faith, hope,
and love in themselves, in their future, and in God himself. I pray and imagine they remember this day and
continue to grow in faith, hope, and love.
Then, one day soon, they realize they have surpassed their hopes and
dreams, so it’s time to search for more and maybe reach out and support loved
ones struggling with their own healing journey.
