O Lord, even if I would argue my case with you, you would always be right. Yet, I want to talk to you about your justice. Why do wicked people succeed? Why do treacherous people have peace and quiet? -Jeremiah 12:1 (GWT)
Photo accessed here.
I sat in rush hour traffic that day, my heart heavily burdened with feelings of sadness and hopelessness.
Give me your eyes for just one second.
I had just finished my first child maltreatment training seminar with other student interns from the child welfare agency we were placed at. During that seminar, we were subjected to five hours of horrific images and case details of children abused by their parents and care givers.
Give me your eyes so I can see.
I’ve always considered myself a pretty tough chick who can weather almost every storm. Not only did I grow up outside of New Jersey’s most dangerous city, I also pursue the adventurous hobby of horseback riding (I’ve been stepped on, body slammed, and wall pressed by horses weighing well over 1,100 pounds – still here!).
Everything that I keep missing.
In all honesty, nothing prepared me for the internal reaction I would have towards child abuse. On that day, I was glad cars were bumper to bumper on the highway. My mind was a raging storm at the thought of social injustice in my own community. Stubbornly, I did not want to move forward one more step. Not if becoming a Christian in Social Work meant feeling like painful bruises were all over my heart. All I could think was “Why, God?! Why?!”
Give me your love for humanity.
My car stereo was tuned into the local Christian radio station that was playing Brandon Heath’s number one track “Give Me Your Eyes”. Distracted by the song’s beat, I gradually stopped trying to process the seminar and turned up the volume to hear the lyrics of his song …
Give me your arms for the broken hearted.
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten.
Give me your eyes so I can see.
Before the song was over, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, “God! You alone see the effort I’m putting forward to fight social injustice! I want to help, seriously I do … but right now I don’t want to move forward anymore. It’s too frustrating and painful to expose myself to all the hurt that is out there!”
And that was when I felt the gentlest whisper in my heart.
“I know. I died for them.”
Bittersweet Truth.
The reality of becoming a Social Worker is that the LORD will show you the broken hearted of this world. Often the hardest part for Christian students in Social Work is witnessing these horrors and maintaining faith that God will work things out for humanity’s good (Jeremiah 29:11).
For me, that day proved to be a turning point in both my Social Work education and my relationship with the LORD. Instead of allowing social injustice to place a wedge between me and my Savior, I followed His guidance to press harder into a relationship with Christ.
Meanwhile, I had to learn that my faith does not mean a guaranteed immunity from the pains of this world. Instead, I had received a healthy perspective on reality that was provided through a relationship with the solid and unshakeable Rock of Life.
How do you react when victims pay the price for someone else’s decision?
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that You will forgive me for getting frustrated and angry with the way You handle evil in this world. I humbly acknowledge that the dark dominion of this world is your footstool. I pray that You will teach me to trust Your plan for my life, as You guide me through what this academic experience entails. Father, please help me to grow stronger in this area as I lean on Your victorious right arm for support. Thank You for Your goodness and mercy! In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Resources:
“31 Days of Power: Learning to Live in Spiritual Victory” by Ruth Myers
“An Untroubled Heart: Finding Faith that is Stronger than My Fears” by Micca Campbell
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Tags: Christianity, Christians in Social Work, field placements, MSW students, school of social work, Social Work, social work students
This is very nice. As a social worker, you will face difficult things. You will question God, and your faith. It is all part of the journey. I have come to believe in miracles because of my work. There are some things that I’ve seen that have no other explanation. Like the man whose doctor gave up on him, and priest gave him last rights because of liver disease – last time I saw him, he’d been sober and alive for two years following that incident. I believe that Jesus was an anti-oppressive social worker (among other things) and that we can learn from his example. He fought the establishment, and did not back down. He hung out with “low lifes” instead of the elite. He loved even those deemed unlovable. I’m not always good at following his example, but I’m working on it.
Totally love your description of Jesus! How many churches would ask Him to leave because of His radical teachings of love?! Well said!
Oh man, your comment “How many churches would ask Him to leave….” is so true. I really wonder what the heck people in some of the more visible, “radical religious right” are worshipping. It is very, very different from what I learned in Sunday School.
Oh, I know. It’s going to be interesting when we get to heaven, isn’t it? All the directions our lives have taken b/c of trusted individual’s personal philosophies or perspectives on life …