Beneath The Veil

It was time for lunch and I had just finished reading the life story of someone I barely knew. It's getting late. I figure I'd better grab a bite before it's too. But I wasn't really hungry. After 3 hours of reading, my whole system is choked full with words. Words that chronicle the life of a friend. I'm not sure if friend is an appropriate word yet. Sure we've had some fun and laughter and I have given her an annoying birthday greeting sometime before. But friends are more than these things. Friends immerse themselves in your life and become a part of it, without regrets. I can hardly say I qualify.

But today she shared a good chunk of her life with me. And I think that kind of created a certain bonding between us. It feels odd to know so much about a person without really knowing her. It's like reading a biography. You know so much about them but you can't say you know them. Knowing someone means having walked with them for a period of time. I wrote a piece about her a few months back, when we knew each other even less. It is finally coming through now. Quite peculiar how it turns out really, but I've been so humbled by her writings, her life.

I read with awe and quiet humility, the story of a promising young girl whose life had been so shattered, and heart lacerated, that she seems irreversibly damaged. I see a girl whose dreams did not fade despite the tangled mess that she was and probably still in. I see a girl who loves much. She is a friend who will be true to you, never judging for she knows how it is like to be judged. She has known brokenness and humiliation and can therefore be gracious to you. There is no need for pretense, for there is no pride to protect. I see a heart that is hardening from all the bleeding but there seems to be a spot ever so tender as though someone has placed his hand there to keep it from turning dead cold. I see glimpses of it everywhere in her writing; beneath her anger, frustrations, tears, disillusionment, cynicism and hopelessness. And out of that spot I see a girl who gave desire it's meaning. I have never known anyone who loved God so intensely as she does, though she denied she still do. You can never hurt beyond the measure which you have loved. Like David, she does not cry for the people she has hurt as much as she cries for breaking the heart of the One she had loved with every ounce of being. She felt betrayed even as she knows she has betrayed Him too.

I see a young lady, dragging her mangled body on this arduous journey. A journey in search of the grace she once knew but dare not believe in anymore. The inspiring thing about her is that, mangled as she is, she has kept her passion alive. Her passion for life. Which is why she still dream dreams. Do we?

I see a girl God can use to touch a multitude.

I invite you to explore her world with me. Do not let her sometimes destructive lifestyle cast a veil upon your eyes that you missed the heart of the story. Lay aside your prejudice and learn to see as God sees. Be willing to read the human story behind the frightened face. The gentleness of Jesus with sinners flowed from His ability to read their hearts. Behind people's grumpiest poses and most puzzling defense mechanisms, behind their arrogance and airs, behind their silence, sneers, and causes, Jesus saw little children who hadn't been loved enough and who had ceased growing because someone had ceased believeing in them.

I've been so blessed and greatly humbled today. Thank you, dc girl for taking the risk to share a part of your life with me.

I'll leave you with this piece that kept playing in my head over and over again.

Before the world began,

you were on his mind

And every tear you've cried

is precious in his eyes

Because of his great love,

he gave his only son

And everything was done

so you would come

Nothing you can do

can make him love you more

And nothing that you have done

can make him close the door

Because of his great love,

he gave his only son

And everything was done

so you would come

Come to the father

though your gift is small

Broken hearts, broken lives

he will take them all

The power of his love,

the power of his grace

Everything was done

so you would come

rk