Unlocking the Cage

Unlocking the Cage

I became a Christian when I was six. I was sitting in church, listening to the story of how Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I had been raised in a Christian home so I had heard the name of Jesus before, but it was not until ten, when I was six, that I heard the Lord speak to me. I cried at the realization that Jesus had done so much for me and when I got home I told my parents I wanted to accept Christ as my savior.

A year earlier, at the tender age of five, I had been sexually abused by a family friend. Although it was a serious and life-changing event, I did not know how much effect it would have on me.

As I grew older the pain and memories of my abuse haunted me and filled me with shame, guilt, anger, and fear. I wallowed in my cage of self-hatred and hatred toward the man who had abused me. I wanted him to die and I wanted to die myself.

My savior, however, had other plans. After years of being a young Christian, God finally opened my eyes and healed me. I don’t know how to explain how he did it or what the healing was like, but one day I decided I wanted to forgive the man who had abused me. I forgave him and everything changed. There was no more shame, no more guilt, no more hatred, no more fear, only love for the man and the hope that he would be happy one day.