I know that all of us can share stories of the incredible behavior we are witnessing around us during this media-inspired panic.  People die every day.  From the flu.  From cancer.  From heart failure.  From diabetes.  In car accidents.  In home accidents.  In bar fights.  In swimming accidents.  In abortion.  Assaults.  The list is endless.  Yet, for whatever reason (can you say poor journalism?) people are panicking about the possibility they might catch the virus and then, that they might actually get sick from the virus, and finally, that they might die from it.

I have seen selfishness and mania in the marketplace as people who normally would never think of stealing, steal things from someone else’s shopping cart while the ‘owner’s’ back is turned. (put it back, please!)  Fights breaking out at Costco and Sam’s (really?  over toilet paper?  do you not own any washcloths?)

Let’s just say that COVID-19 is exposing the basest of human natures in so many people, it is nauseating and heart-wrenching.

BUT!  I have a different story to tell!

I was standing in the grocery store check-out line, having inched my way forward to third in line, when the lady in front of me turned around and handed me a five dollar bill.  “What’s this for?” I asked.  And the man in front of her turned around and said, with an incredulous look on his face, that the woman who had just checked out had handed him a wad of bills.  It turned out to be $30.00, and he was sharing it with those behind him in line!  Do you believe it?  God is soooo good!

This man, in a wheel-chair cart, was well-dressed and well-groomed.  Yet the woman in front of him had been moved, in the midst of the chaos of the store, to share her bounty with him.  And he, in turn, shared it with others.  As I stood looking down at the bill, a scripture verse came to my mind:

I read an article in the news this morning about child sexual abuse.  This particular article dealt with rape of an 18-month-old baby.   A BABY.  Left in the care of a parent who is supposed to provide safety, security, and love.  A baby.

My heart broke.  I am a survivor of child sexual abuse.  My daughter is a survivor.  My granddaughter is a survivor.  But NOTHING that we endured even comes close to the depravity, the evil that the small baby endured.  And if MY heart is breaking, imagine what the Lord is feeling about these little ones that He considers to be blessings in our lives!

IT HAS TO STOP!  A video of that small baby’s rape was circulated on social media.  The depth of evil is almost more than I can comprehend.  And certainly greater than people are willing to talk about.

Stop It Now! is a world-wide organization in the fight against this horrendous crime.  I pulled the following from their website:

The impact of sexual abuse does not end when the abuse ends. Survivors of sexual abuse are at significantly greater risks for severe and chronic mental health issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, PTSD and high risk behaviors.

• One in 10 children will experience contact sexual abuse in the U.S. before age 18[iii]
• More than 50% of sex abuse survivors were sexually abused before the age of 12.[iv]
• One in 25 children (10-17) will receive an online sexual solicitation[v]
• Of substantiated reports of child maltreatment in the US, 9% were unique survivors of sexual abuse[vi]
• The average age for a minor to enter the sex trade is 12 – 14.[vii]
• Globally, prevalence rates show that a range of 7-36% of women and 3-29% of men experience sexual abuse in childhood.[viii]
• More than one-third (35.2%) of the women who reported a completed rape before the age of 18 also experienced a completed rape as an adult, Thus, the percentage of women who were raped as children or adolescents and also raped as adults was more than two times higher than the percentage among women without an early rape history. [ix]
• 42.2% girls experiencing their first completed rape did so before the age of 18 (29.9% between 11-17 years old and 12.3% at or before age 10) [x]
• Over one-quarter of male victims of completed rape experienced their first rape at or before the age of 10. [viii]
• Children with disabilities are 2.9 times more likely than children without disabilities to be sexually abused.[xi]
• Children with intellectual and mental health disabilities appear to be the most at risk, with 4.6 times the risk of sexual abuse as their peers without disabilities.[xii]
• At least 31% of girls and 7% of boys involved in the juvenile justice system have been sexually abused.[xiii]

The Situation:

• In as many as 93 percent of child sexual cases, the child knows the person that commits the abuse. [xiv]
• Males made up almost 88% of perpetrators [xv]
• 60% of children who are sexually abused do not disclose[xvi] [xvii] [xviii]
• Up to  50% of child sexual abuse cases are perpetrated by someone younger than 18 years old[xix]
• 12 – 24% of sex offenders are known re-offenders [xx]
• Most are acquaintances but as many as 47% are family or extended family.[xxi]
• Juveniles make up 20% of those arrested for sex offenses [xxii]
• The 5-year sexual recidivism rate for high-risk sex offenders is 22% from the time of release, and decreases for this risk level to 4.2% for those who have remained offense-free in the community for 10 years. The recidivism rates of the low-risk offenders are consistently low (1%-5%) for all time periods. [xxiii]

Today I am crying out for mercy for every child.  Protection for every child.  And for an ARMY to rise up against this evil and take it down!

Matthew 18:6    But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

If you are a victim or know a victim who needs help, or want more information, or want to volunteer / donate to help stop this evil curse around the world, I’ve listed some web sites below.  Some localities also have local organizations that have stepped into the fray.

In the USA:

Stop It Now!   https://www.stopitnow.org/

Voices for Children  https://voicesforchildren.org/

In the UK:

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children https://www.nspcc.org.uk/

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation  https://www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk/

Stop It Now!  https://www.stopitnow.org.uk

In Canada:

Red Cross  https://www.redcross.ca/how-we-help/violence-bullying-and-abuse-prevention/youth/sexual-abuse

Europe:

Council of Europe  https://www.coe.int/en/web/human-rights-channel/stop-child-sexual-abuse-in-sport

Worldwide:

Stop It Now!  https://www.stopitnow.org

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation  https://www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk/

Life is a balancing act.  Between home, work, school, family, kids, spouses, friends, and church there has to be some pretty strategic planning and on-hands management happening to make everything work smoothly — forget smoothly, I’ll settle for just getting things all headed in the right direction!

I know I am not unique in this, but I’m going to say it anyway — I’M SELFISH!  I WANT ME-TIME!

In the days of small children and career, I actually never got “me-time” unless you count the ride on the subway 🙂    I used to try to take a bath and call that “me-time” but with the kids, one and then another, banging on the door, I soon switched to showers.  After I retired I thought “NOW my time is my own!”  And it was — for about three months.  Then the family began to close in with new needs and I discovered an entire world of people who need help and encouragement, and I jumped back in the fray.

I have come to realize that my personality type is a helper type.  If someone needs help — with anything! — and I have the ability to help, I’ll do it.  Consequently my days are relatively full and my nights, well, who needs more than 7 hours sleep, anyway?

How many people have told YOU to make room for yourself?  Perhaps even as you read this you said to yourself “It isn’t selfish to want time to myself.”  Maybe someone counseled you with words like “you can’t help others if you don’t take care of yourself first”.  Or perhaps “all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy”.  (I guess that depends on who Johnny’s friends are!)

These adages, and others like them, sound great to our natural selfish desires.  In fact, secular counselors push putting yourself first, taking care of yourself, getting your needs met, etc. etc. etc.  The ‘me-first’ generation.  And they exist in every generation.  Unfortunately for us, those adages do not mirror Christ or His Holy Word.  The Holy Scripture calls for sacrifice, laying aside our selfish desires to follow the One who saved us.  He expects us to live a lifestyle of constantly pouring out — our time, our treasure, and our talents — to further His Kingdom.  And as we pour out, He pours in, filling us to overflowing with His love, peace and joy, and strengthening us and providing for us so that we can keep going on the path He has chosen for us.

Don’t get me wrong — even Jesus took a night off from the disciples to go commune with Father God.  But then He got right back at it.  Which is just what we need to do.  Every day.  Set aside time to be with Father before we set about our day and see how much farther our energy and strength take us — and how much more peace in which we dwell.  When we start the day with Father, He gives us wisdom for completing everything we have before us and understanding for dealing with the people and unexpected circumstances we encounter.

How about joining me in climbing off of that tightrope and into the arms of the Father?  It’s a great place to dwell.

Isaiah 26:3  “You [God] will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

I received a text message that said a close friend needed prayer.  She didn’t say why, just pray.  I receive prayer requests frequently, via text and email and telephone call.  Sometimes they tell me what for, and sometimes, with tear-filled voices, the caller will simply say “Please pray”.  Sometimes I pray right then, on the telephone with the caller.  Sometimes I send a prayer back via text or email.  And sometimes, like this morning, I take it to the Lord privately.  Just Jesus and me, interceding for the need.  My prayer list is so long, I no longer write the requests down.  I pray right now.  Because if I write it down it might wait until the next morning during my quiet time, and that might be too late.

This morning I awoke knowing someone was in dire need.  I could barely lift my head, and it took quite a few seconds to actually get my body out of bed.  The sheer magnitude of the fatigue was almost overwhelming.  And then I dissolved into tears, crying over the fatigue, the tiredness, and the desire to just quit.  By the time I got to my prayer chair I knew the need was was desperate, and someone was in horrible circumstances.  And I began to pray.  Eventually, the feeling passed and I was right-as-rain again.  But it still nags at me. Someone so debilitated this morning that they wanted to give up.  And again, I pray.

This is the life of someone gifted by God with a spirit of intercession.  Most times I do not have any idea who I am praying for, but I do know the need and so I lift that “one” to the throne, in prayer and supplication.  It isn’t an easy life though others looking in would think so.  Even after so many years of intercession, there are still times when it might take me 3 or 4 hours to remember to pray for someone else — that the sickness, the pain, the emotions I am experiencing are not mine — they belong to someone else in the body of Christ.  And as I pray for others, those things leave me.

So I just want to encourage you today, if you are feeling ‘not well’ in any area of your life, pray for someone else.  It doesn’t take much, usually.  Sometimes I have to pray for several hours before the impression leaves me, but usually just a couple of minutes or less.  Something simple, like, “Father, I lift to you whoever is feeling these symptoms of a head cold, and I ask for your healing touch upon them, in Jesus holy name. Amen.”

Let’s pray for others, rather than carry these burdens around unnecessarily.

James 5:16 — Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

A close friend asked me once, “don’t you ever get lonely?”  I responded without even thinking about it–  “No, I don’t”.  Then, with her disbelieving look, I decided to reconsider and think about my answer.  Do I get lonely?  I searched in my recent memory and finally confirmed my previous answer —no, I don’t.

It’s true that I am alone.  It doesn’t necessarily follow that I am lonely.  I enjoy my alone time — what there is of it — and I enjoy my own company.  I’m a busy person.  Someone once said if you want something done, give it to a busy person.  I like being busy and ministering the love of Christ to others.  I like being out and about interacting with others, and I like helping people.  And believe me, there are plenty of people around who need a helping hand!

I have chosen this solitary walk with Jesus.  The pain and destruction of my past make being alone the most enjoyable of experiences. Even when I am alone, I am not alone–I get to commune with Jesus, resting in His presence and recharging my batteries for the next day’s adventures.  It isn’t a lonely road — it’s a solitary walk.  Occasionally someone will come alongside for a time, and we will walk and minister together.  I enjoy those times, but no more than I enjoy walking and ministering beside Jesus.

Jesus said “Take up your cross and follow me,” (Matthew 16:24) not “form a posse and camp where you are.”  I know that works for some people.  I’ve observed people who must have an audience, and others who have to belong with a group.  I’ve prayed with those who insist they need a mate —  a life-partner to complete them and catapult their ministry (whatever it may be).  I’ve listened to the “it is not good for man to be alone” and “two can keep warm” and “share one another’s burdens” messages.  All really good stuff.  Just not for me.  Not now.  I am not alone, I have Jesus.  His presence keeps me warm and safe, and He carries my burdens for me.  I belong to a group called the Body of Christ, and I assemble weekly in a place called church, often multiple times a week.  I have a few very close friends and many acquaintances.  For me, it is enough.

So I’ve said all of this to hopefully break through to someone who thinks they are incomplete without another person in their life.  You are complete in Jesus Christ.  And if you are searching for a mate to complete you or if you tell yourself that once you find a mate, then you’ll be happy, trust me when I tell you NO, you won’t.  If you want to be happy with a mate, you must first learn to be happy in yourself and by yourself — content with your own company and completely at ease being alone.  Find something that you love to do, and DO IT.  Find friends that you can trust and enjoy their company.  Get involved in something bigger than you are and find fulfillment in serving others.  And perhaps, when you aren’t looking, that perfect mate will be standing right in front of you.  But don’t live your life for that moment — live your life in a way that puts a smile on Jesus’ face!

Philippians 4:8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”