I visited this morning with a horrifically abused and neglected child-woman. We delighted in abundant morning glory vines, feathered heads of golden rod, and the warmth of sunshine mixed with a gentle breeze….. I marveled at her resilience, her gentleness, her forgiving heart until I remembered that Christ had sent a childlike-angelic being to her at the age of 3, she who was coming to distrust all adults because of the pain they caused, an angel who brought her to Christ Himself. Christ has been with her all these years to protect her spirit and soul when no one found it necessary to protect her body. She has discovered that her ability to see the hearts and motives of others is a gift that Christ in her has conferred, and is learning how to banish the presence and influence of unholy spirits that press toward her from others or are hidden in her own fears, while using her voice and strength in Christ to protect herself. We’ve begun to suspect a rare genetic disorder that causes reduced cognitive function such as hers and some of the almost imperceptible physical signs. Had it not been for the restraining effect of her mild disability she might have raged against the abuse and her circumstances made even worse…. God placed a hand of protection over her in the physical realm and remains with her Himself to be her Refuge and Strength, a Tall Tower, a Cleft in The Rock where her spirit and soul have been hidden, but now emerge by degrees as she cares for the horses, learns to sew, cooks, dresses in new clothes, sings in worship, and follows along in her Bible as the words are spoken to her in her headphones……. She is a habitation of Christ… a Living Stone who only now is beginning to be shaped for the place she will hold in the cathedral under construction.
