The boy had seen a barefooted man dressed in Jeans and a white T-shirt walk into the building, curiosity caused him to follow. Without knowing where he was going, the boy found himself standing at the end of an empty hallway. Annoyed, he turned to leave but the door he had entered through had disappeared. He stood looking at the hard white floors, afraid to move forward but knowing he had no choice.
After a few steps he began to notice a door on his left, the door opened and he saw himself as a baby, crying, all alone in the orphanage he had begun his life in almost 18 years ago. He shuttered at this sight and took a step forward. To his right, a door opened and a three year old version of himself stared directly into his eyes as one of his many foster parents were yelling in the background. He watched as the man hit the woman and winced remembering the pain that came from that slap. He saw the little boy try to stop the man, only to become his next victim. The boy reached up and ran his finger over the scar on the back of his head.
He took another step forward and to his left he found a teenage girl crying. He recognized her immediately. He had slept with her once, and left. He wasn’t ready to date back then but she was attractive. Suddenly the girl was standing in the doorway with a bottle of alcohol. She was asking why he had left, was she not good enough for him, what else did he want. She just kept repeating it over and over as he began to walk away, tears filled his eyes. What had he done to her.
To his right another door opened, sitting in the doorway was his friend from high school. He was begging for money. Without hesitation, the boy grabbed money from his pocket and handed it to his friend. He watched as his friend took the money and purchased drugs. The boy tried to walk through the door to stop it but it was no use, he wasn’t able to get through.
To his left another door opened and his adoptive dad stepped through. He began to yell, “What have you done with your life? Adopting you was a waste of my time. Will you ever learn to care about anyone other than yourself? Grow up. Quit ruining everyone else’s life, you are not welcome here any more.” He remembered hearing these words from his dad a few months back, it had been devastating.
He suddenly began to hear all the out cry’s of his past. The baby, the little boy, the teenage girl, his friend, his dad. It kept getting louder. He closed his eyes and began to cry out. The sounds seemed to soften as he lift his eyes and saw two bare feet walking forward. He looked up and the man was gone, the cry’s had stopped, so he began to walk forward.
To his right a door opened and as it did he noticed the hall began to fill with doors. He began walking, as different versions of himself cheered him on. Don’t worry man, you will do great things. Look at this beautiful woman, you are going to marry her one day. Another door showed him and the woman holding a beautiful child that they had adopted after the father, his past friend, had passed away from overdose. He then saw his father who reached out and shook his hand, I’m proud of who you are becoming son. He saw the girl from high school teaching a seminar on the importance of purity. Everyone was cheering, they were excited to see him. His eyes once again began to fill with tears. He then saw the mans feet turn a corner so the boy began to run after him.
The boy caught the man before he left the building. The man seemed to almost be a giant, he was calm and filled with peace. He got down on his knees and opened his arms as if he knew what the boy wanted. The boy ran into his embrace as God hugged him and said, “you are more, my child, more than what they say and more than what you believe.”
The boy resisted, “Do you see what I have done, my friend died because of me! My foster mom has been missing since the night the man hit her! I ruined that girls life.” The man smiled “these are parts of your life, and parts of theirs. You can choose to determine who you are based on what you have done, based on who you have hurt, how you have been hurt by others or you can choose to look at me and my love will cover your doubts. I want to lead you into the future version of yourself, a future of hope. The kind of future where you change lives for the better. I cannot make this choice for you but I can promise you I will always be waiting, let me know when you are ready.”
The boy began to sob, ” I am ready, God. I want to live a life filled with Joy. I want to see my friends succeed. I want to find good even in the bad, and have peace when I am broken. I am ready.”
“Then go, and love abundantly.” With one more hug, the man vanished and the boy walked out into the world with a new perspective. He was ready.
We are called to bring this kind of love to everyone! We can choose to look at our past or we can choose to look at Christ. We are called to Love abundantly! I am so excited to share this love with others around the world.
1 Peter 4:8 ” Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
