I stood up to you and you tried
to destroy me. When I stand up for myself and for others afraid to speak, I’m
viewed as a threat that must be silenced and destroyed, right? Wrong. I was
scared, but I spoke up anyway. Taking the high road isn’t always easy when it
comes to people like you. I know you tried to poison my name to others, and
eventually those others learned the things you said about me weren’t true. Trying
to destroy me was never going to make you more powerful. It only magnified that
you were wrong about me all along. But I forgive
you. When I tried to get help, I felt outnumbered. That was lonely, massively painful, and scary. Know what happens
when people are scared of people like you? They stay silent. What's troubling is that often, when things like this happen, many people will watch you get attacked and say nothing. I forgive them, though. And I still forgive you. For awhile I thought something
was wrong with me because you thought
I didn’t belong when really you were the
one with the problem. People like you… people like you… people like you are the
reason why people stay away from churches and avoid the Christian community all
together. I’ve seen people crying in secret and heard the stories people are afraid to bring forward. It’s incredible how horrible things can happen in
beautiful places. I still forgive
you, though.
But it wasn’t just you…
To the one who criticized my
clothing
To the one who publically
humiliated me
To the one who looked me in the face
and pretended I wasn’t there
To the one who got jealous and
stopped talking to me when the guy choose me, instead of her
To the one I was supposed to
build with that never followed through
To the one who looked down on me
To the ones who were supposed to
be my friends
To the ones I thought were my
friends
To the people in places I went to
for sanctuary that were scarring
And to all the ones who think and
claim I embarrass the Kingdom… I forgive
you all.
I don’t want an apology and I
don’t need one. I’ve made my peace. I just don’t want what happened to me to
happen to anyone else. I don’t have anything to
prove to you or anyone else. I never did. I still have value. And most
importantly, I know who I am. I won’t let people like you steal my joy, kill my
spirit, or make me believe there still isn’t goodness in this fallen world. There’s
enough room for all kinds of people to sit at the table, even when people like
you don’t think so. I stayed quiet, held back, and was afraid to breathe a word
about this. But I know my God and I don’t have to choose fear. I choose freedom.
-You didn’t ruin me.