Shattered

 Once upon a time their was a little girl, her smile was wide,  her eyes were filled with wonder. She loved life-she was happy to be alive, as she skipped along she was always humming a tune. The sun warmed her skin and the blue sky gave her hope. 

She loved flowers and little furry animals, bunnies and squirrels, butterflies and honey bees. This little girl was free, she was wanted, she was safe, she was loved. The world offered her a basket full of dreams and she was happily gathering them all. 

Then one day a dark grey cloud filled the sky, gone were the blue skies and puffy marshmallow clouds the girl was so familiar with. Even the furry little animals were no where to be found. There were no beautiful butterflies or honey bees buzzing away in the flower garden. 

This day was different-something was just not right-it felt off somehow-the little girl stopped humming her natural tune of care free wonder. 

Her skip slowed until turning to a complete stand still. She felt frozen as her eye caught site of a man. He was standing just off yonder under a big tall oak tree; he peered out, his eyes following her every breath. 

Now the man did not look so much different than the other men she had seen in her life's journey thus far-yet their was something vastly different about him. It was his eyes, they were miserable and bleak, casting a shadow of darkness everywhere he looked. 

At this moment those eyes-his eyes with their piercing darkness were fixed tightly upon her. She not only saw them with her own eyes, she felt them as they were penetrating into the depths of her soul. 

The man began to come toward her, it was as if he was not so much walking step by step like a normal man would- but instead he became closer and closer to her as if her breathing which was becoming more and more shallow was rapidly drawing him to her. 

The little girls heart began to race, her legs felt like jelly as panic set in. She knew she was in danger, she wanted to run but the man was so close now, to close and she could not move; she was trapped as the man began to speak. 

"I know who you are" he spat at her, his voice was chilling, eerie and very frighting as he now was right upon her, as if he was somehow both all around her and inside of her all at the same time. She could feel his chill-his energy-dark and deadly causing her to want to shrink back but their was no where for her to go-he was everywhere-in everything and all around her was his presence-his grasp-he began to whisper to her.

'You are no good"-"you are worthless"-"you are not loved"-"no one ever wanted you"-"you are a burden"-"a mistake"-"a no good vile creature." "You are a disappointment a disgrace an awful and evil monster."

"Your parents don't love you, they never wanted you." "Your siblings can't stand you, they wish you were never born." "All you do is cry and whine and cause trouble." "No one will ever love you, no one will ever want you." " You don't deserve to be loved-you don't even deserve to be alive."

By now the little girl was crying, not gentle quiet tears, no she was crying-painful gut wrenching sobs-gasping for air as she struggled to breath as his words kept coming, on and on they began to swallow up her very life and existence. 

"You are ugly, vile to behold, your smell is putrid and you will never succeed." " You are dumb and will never learn or be any good at anything you attempt." " You will cause pain to others and everything you do and everything you are will be cursed because you are not worthy, your are not worthy of life or of love or of any good thing."

 "I know you little girl, I know who you are and you will never escape me." 

At this everything the little girl once knew and believed became fragmented. Her very soul was shattered, broken into 1000 pieces right before her very eyes. 

The man laughed at her a shrill evil laugh that made her cringe and curl up into a ball. The little girls spirit was broken as she lay crumpled on the ground believing the man and everything he said to be true. 

The man that came to the little girl, the man that shattered her heart and soul, the very essence of her being, the man who stole her basket of dreams along with all her hopes-leaving her a crumpled ball on the ground, a broken vessel a shattered human being-that man was no man at all-that man was Satan himself-the god of this world.

Satan has come to us all at one point or another during our lives, probably many times over and over just to make sure we have not forgotten. 

John 10:10  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 

Make no mistake dear friend, Satan is alive and well on planet earth and he comes to us all for one reason and one reason alone- to destroy us. 

But their is another, one even stronger and with even greater power than Satan himself-that one is Jesus Christ the God of all creation-including this world and all things beyond this world. 

Don't think for one second friend that Jesus Christ didn't see that shattered little girl crumpled on the ground. He did see her. 

Do you want to know how I know Jesus seen her? Because that crumpled, shattered little girl curled up in a ball on the ground -that little girl was me and guess what dear friend, He saw me-Jesus saw me. 

Think back dear friend when you were just a child and you were filled with hope and wonder-when fear and pain were mere shadows-think back to a time when perhaps you saw the man and his dark penetrating eyes fixing themselves upon you and he told you just as he told me-"I know you" and he began to shatter you with his vile speech.  Perhaps from that day on you became shattered, broken, lost, alone, just like me. 

Well my friend it has happened countless times to countless children and again and again as we grow he visits us to remind us that he knows us as he spits his venom upon us-seeking to kill and destroy us. 

Never fear the story doesn't end here. 

Never forget dear friend that their is another, their is another who is stronger and much more powerful that Satan and He sees us-He has not forgotten us or left us crumpled a shattered ball on the ground.

In fact dear friend He is calling us today-today my friend- Jesus Himself sees you and is calling to you. That is why you are here. 

Once  again it is the pain that has brought us together and it is inside the pain that we will find our deepest healing. 

Until next time-L