I once heard it said that the enemy seeks to attack children when they are very young because their defenses are down during that critical time of life. I was one of those children.
Life was rough me from a very young age. It wasn’t because I didn’t have enough. It was because of labels the world gave me . . . not good enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough. The list got harsher as I got older.
Words are powerful, and I wore those harsh labels until they became my identity. My attitude was to please people, and my head hung low.
At the age of 14, I was diagnosed with depression, and I had suicidal thoughts more times than I have ever told anyone about. God found me in the worst places of life many times, and He always assured me that I was His. But the labels were difficult to shake.
I took depression pill after depression pill, and nothing worked except the love of God. No one understood my pain the way He did, and He always appeared when I was at my lowest.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I know this verse to be true because I have seen it be active in my life.
I never thought that the hurting child who fought a negative pattern of thinking would be called to children who have experienced the same and so much worse. But that is where I find myself.
The girl that was labeled in such hurtful ways now fights hard to speak that my words may bring life to others through Jesus Christ. The same girl who battled so in her mind was also called to dream dreams of hope and encouragement.
What I have learned in my journey with Christ is that the enemy attacks in the area of my giftedness, and he seeks to cut off my lifeline to Jesus so that I cannot be used to show what life in Him is like. My testimony is that God covered me with Himself and healed my wounds. Truly His grace is sufficient.
JaNina Brunner is a resident of Mobile, Al. She is also an author and a therapist.
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