Years ago, I was slandered publicly on the internet. People said awful things about me and my beliefs, about my work, about what I stand for. And other people believed them.
I hung up the phone after reading the hateful words to my friend who lives across the country. She had tried to comfort me, but the situation was too big, overwhelming, and distressing. Feeling sad that her words didn't lift me, I walked into my bathroom and turned on my shower. Getting under the showerhead, I released all the tension in my body, and the flood of tears came pouring out.
I cried tears for every awful word this person said about me. I cried tears for the people who believed her. I cried tears for the pit in my stomach that made me think, How could someone actually believe all that?
The experience brought so much pain, self-doubt, and confusion. Self-doubt in what I was doing online cultivating the community of Blessed is She and about my pure and transparent heart for others. Confusion about my ability to trust others and how someone could treat me so poorly and have little to no regard for my feelings, my family, my faith.
And yet, as painful as it was, it did not discourage me from my work spreading God's teachings, especially on love.
Despite that situation, I still believe in people, redemption, and mercy because of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In today's scripture, Jesus is very specific:
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. — Luke 6:27–28
Our Lord Himself teaches us that even if someone hates us, we still love her. Even when someone curses us, we still pray for her and bless her.
I believe when Jesus Christ commanded this, He meant a soul-surrendering sort of love. One that doesn't make sense, is contrary to every instinctual feeling. This kind of love means that even if someone were to try to harm your heart... you would love her.
Lord, if that's not one of the hardest commandments You've ever said, I don't know what is.
Loving her means treating her with dignity even when it is painful to do.
I've come to understand that loving someone doesn't always mean letting him or her in your life over and over again to potentially cause you more harm. If we are in a position of danger, we absolutely should get out of the situation and pray for and bless someone from afar.
Sister, Jesus knows about that suffering you or someone close to you may have gone through or is currently going through. And He is with you in that pain. He will never leave or forsake you.
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