Wounded by God's People Read Online Free PDF Page A

her advice, then winked at me and told me I looked beautiful. Unique, but beautiful.
    This seemingly small wound that took place in church was the first of a series of others that I endure to this day. Wounds inflicted when those within the church have pronounced judgment on me, not for the way I look, but for the way I speak … and where I speak … and to whom I speak.
    These are just a few of my earliest experiences of feeling hurt and alienated by God’s people. They may seem mild all these years later, but I remember them keenly because of how much they hurt at the time — and because they were the first of many such experiences to come. I will share more stories as the book unfolds. But through all of these painful situations, God, in His infinite grace, helped me to distinguish between His people and Himself. With each hurtful experience, I was confronted with a choice:
Would I reject Him because I was rejected by them?
Rather than rehash the decision every time I was rejected, I decided years ago that once and for all I was committed to live my life for God, regardless of the way He was represented by others. In other words, other people’s treatment of me would inno way affect my relationship with Him, unless it was to drive me closer to Him … to strengthen my faith in Him … to intensify my pursuit of knowing Him as He is and not for the tarnished image of Him that His people sometimes reflect. It was a decision that has proven valuable. Because as protected and prayed for as my family is and has been, without going into detail I can tell you that there have been wounds on top of wounds. Betrayal, adultery, rape, drunkenness, theft, drug addiction, lying, and other acts of the sinful nature have manifested themselves in my extended family. 1 Actions motivated by jealousy, ambition, pride, lust, and greed —just plain old sin — have resulted in wounds that have inflicted untold damage on the wounded. Does that surprise you? That a preacher’s extended family not only includes deeply wounded people, but also includes wounders? Yet it does. Which is one reason I know that God’s love heals. He can redeem the wounded. And forgive the wounders.
    When we think about it, why should my family be exempt from wounds anyway? The Bible says that all have sinned — that the heart of man is desperately wicked — and we live in a fallen world. 2 I dare to say that all families carry wounds inflicted by each other to a greater or lesser degree. Family life can be hard.
    And “family” life was increasingly hard for Hagar. As a slave, wounds were woven into the very fabric of her existence. When she left Egypt, as devastating as this could have been for a young girl, I wonder if she may at first actually have viewed it as an adventure! She may have been filled with excitement as she anticipated exploring beyond the palace walls and Egypt’s borders. She may have been thrilled to escape the authority of the palace officials and Pharaoh himself, and eager to serve Sarah, the breathtakingly beautiful princess. Perhaps to Hagar this seemed like the great escape from herwounded life that she had dreamt of but never thought she would actually experience.
    Reflecting back on the early years of our lives, I expect most of us tended to view the world with bright, eager eyes. We were filled with the anticipation of adventure and discovery. The possibilities seemed limitless to our young imaginations and dreams. But then reality set in.
    When did real life hit you? Our dreams can die when we find ourselves, like Hagar, with the odds stacked against us — perhaps because of a dysfunctional family, an absentee parent, a sibling who tormented us one minute and hugged us the next, abuse by a friend or extended family member. Maybe as you grew up, you were wounded by …
    Having to work long hours at a young age to help the family make ends meet, and so were denied a more