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Someone gave us an article from the May
15, 2005 edition of the York News York, PA called Reach out
to girls who cut themselves. The article reads
as follows: "Children in my community are cutting
themselves. I know why they do it because I've watched them
grow up. I know why they do it
because I've grown up with them. They want something.
Deeply, Desperately, Dangerously. They want something they
cannot have: a
father's delight, a mother's smile, a boy's attention, a
night without screaming, a smaller dress size, a bigger bra
size.
They hate themselves for wanting. They don't want to kill
themselves. They just want to kill their wanting.
They stockpile razors. They steal box cutters. They arm
themselves against longing. When they forget to guard
against longing, they cry and they
cannot stop. The razor is smooth and shiny. Just looking at
its sharpness dulls the pain. The knife is scalloped. They
run their fingers over its curves until their fingers are
numb. Scallops sooth like ocean waves: beating, beating.
They cut themselves. They watch the blood trickle. Their
heaving sobs
subside and tears trickle like blood. Desire drips, then
scabs. For a while. They hate themselves for giving up their
dreams and they dare to dream again. Glass bauble dreams
that sparkle in the sunlight. Their dreams dangle, then
snap. Tatter, scatter, what-does-it-matter dreams. Then the
little girls with their wish-bone hearts break bottles and
slash with slivers and shards. That girl who calls your son
- the one who hangs up when you answer:
Maybe she cuts herself. That neighbor who sits on her porch,
eyes downcast and cheeks buried in her fists. Maybe she cuts
herself. You'll find her, not by her scratches and scars,
but by her eyes. Scared woman-in-pangs-of-child-birth eyes
in a little girl's face. When you find her, what then?
Take her by the hand - both hands. When she's holding your
hands, she cannot cut. Sit with her on a park bench. Watch
the cherry blossoms
trickle to the sidewalk. Sit with her in the rain, letting
the raindrops dribble down your cheeks. Blood and tears are
not the only things that
trickle. Spread a quilt on the ground and watch the stars,
bright against the night. Knives and razors are not the only
things that glitter in the
dark. Whisper to her not to listen to all that shouts:
pain, disappointment, loss, failure, despair. Shout to her
that quiet whisper of hope: the only hope that will never
disappoint, the only love that will never fail. Rock her and
chant the psalmist's refrain; 'Weeping tarries for the
night, but a shout of joy
comes in the morning.' Take her in your arms and sway side
by side, singing of the God who turns wailing into dancing.
Little girl, I say to you, 'Arise!' for 'He will yet fill
your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy,.'
(Job 8:21) I know that is a
long article, but I wanted to give you the whole thing. The
woman who wrote the article is obviously liberal, using
perversions of the Bible,
and has a contemporary view of Christianity; however, she
does recognize that these young people are only going to get
the help they need from the
Lord. The problem of young people and maybe even older
people cutting and carving on themselves is everywhere; we
see it all the time in the
juvenile centers and even in churches. They do it with
razors, knives, staples, anything that they can get a hold
of to do it with. Why? Well,
I'm sure if you asked them, they would all give you a
different answer. For example, we met a young man in a
Florida Juvenile Center that had
been puncturing himself with a staple because he was so
depressed since his grandmother died and wanted to end his
own life. So, they all have
different reasons for doing this, but let's take a look at
the Bible and see what the real reason is. Mark 5:5 says,
"And always, night and day,
he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and
cutting himself with stones." Then in I Kings 18:28 it says,
"And they cried aloud, and
cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets,
till the blood gushed out upon them." Deuteronomy 14:1 says,
"Ye are the children of the
LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any
baldness between your eyes for the dead." Three verses about
people cutting themselves
(and people say that the Bible is out dated, yet it
addresses a very real problem for young people today.) In
Mark 5:5, it is caused by devils. In
I Kings and Deuteronomy it is associated with pagan
religions. So, you see a person that is not necessarily
associated with any "church" or
religion such as many young people are today and you see how
devils can influence them. Just like the maniac of Gadera
there in Mark 5, many
young people are greatly influence by evil spirits and don't
even realize that's what it is. Then, you see people doing
it because of there
religion which is also demon influence, no doubt. For
example, you read about the Catholic church and you read
about people walking on their
knees for miles, or lashing themselves with whips, or some
other means of afflicting pain for penance. Both situations
are sad because those people
have no hope. They can do all that and still end up in Hell.
Or, a young person can be influenced by the devils to the
point of killing themselves
and be doomed forever. The Devil is working hard to take
people captive by his tricks and ways. While all the while,
they could have the love,
the joy, the peace, the hope and the life that they are
looking for if they would just repent and look to the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. We
as Christians also strive and labor and set our affections
on so many earthly, material things trying to be happy and
find fulfillment, when
all the time there is none in this world.It is no wonder
that more people are not getting saved; they see us as God's
children longing for the
same things that they are longing for (instead of living
that life more abundantly); We may not be cutting on
ourselves but still we are living
in lack when everything we need is in the Lord Jesus Christ
if we would look to him. Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and
ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." John
10:10 says, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to
kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have
it more abundantly." Romans 15:13, "Now the God of hope fill
you with all joy and
peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the
power of the Holy Ghost." And that is just the tip of the
iceberg of the scriptures
that witness of the satisfaction that the Lord can give. I
know by experience that the Lord can satisfy, can heal all
broken hearts, can rid
all bitterness, can be your father, your mother, your child,
your spouse, everything you need. His love is so boundless,
His grace and mercy are so
endless and He is full of loving kindness. The Psalmist said
it best, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
God bless you, Sis. Tanya |
in the
