“Madonna and Child with Angels” (1674) by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome, Italy
(PD-Art, PD-old)
“In the absence of light, darkness prevails.”
-Motto of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, “Hellboy” (Dark Horse Comics)
Heart wrenching tales of abuse could easily fill these pages. Generally, I try to stay away from stories of that kind. Too often, they leave us feeling helpless and hopeless.
When I do write about lost lives, the words are my poor attempt to honor those lives and bear witness to the loss.
It may be some small consolation that such children have gone home to God. Their pain is over. That should not, however, diminish our outrage.
There are, of course, countless unreported cases of abuse. Names we will never know, though God is familiar with them all.
While those victims are gone, their struggle ended, our obligation is to fight on. It is a way of fighting darkness and death, fighting evil. We may not have been in a position to save the lives of those children. But we can try to save our own.
Our struggle with darkness is not insignificant. We may feel isolated, may feel that our scars are overwhelming. And, in truth, those scars may last a lifetime. Which makes our struggle all the more heroic.
If the lost children could speak, they would applaud our efforts. They would wish us Godspeed. They were not able to live in this sad world any longer. But we may yet triumph for their sake.
In fighting the scars, the darkness, we are on the side of the angels.
“Praise the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, who obey His word. Praise the Lord, all His heavenly hosts, you His servants who do His will…Praise the Lord, my soul” (Ps. 103: 20-22 NIV).
Originally posted 9/24/17
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ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 