The Pain We Know

She saw her chance for escape.  An oversight by her captor, a door left unlocked, just waiting for her to walk through.  The night outside was pitch black, no moon out to show her the way.  She had given up long ago.  She had been beaten into submission and she had no courage to run now, but she knew this chance would never come again. 

If it wasn’t for the unexpected distraction, she'd be reliving the same hell she had been through hundreds of times before.  Oh, how she hated herself for not listening to wisdom when she was younger.  Her parents had warned her a million times about talking to strangers on the internet, but when the instant messages came pouring in day after day, she couldn’t resist his sweet lies.

At the time she had no idea he was not who he said he was.  The tiny profile pic was of a cute 15-year-old boy, with blonde hair and sun-kissed freckles on his nose.  She was smitten by the second day of texting.  He said the cutest things and he was always telling her how beautiful she was.  No on had ever said that to her before. 

The day he asked to meet in person was supposed to be such a magical day.  It was the day before her 14^th birthday and she was super excited about the party the next day, the only thing that would make it less than perfect is that she couldn’t invite him.  Eve knew for sure her parents would freak.  So, that day she agreed to meet him, because he had a gift for her birthday.  They were meeting at the park around the corner.  Her parents never questioned her about meeting with her friends around the corner.  They wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Eve lived to regret that day a thousand times, wishing more than anything she wouldn’t have responded to that first instant message.  When she got to the park that day, she didn’t see anybody at first, especially not the cute boy she was anxiously waiting to meet in person.  She had been there for about five minutes when an older guy, with a ball cap walked by.  He didn’t stop or talk, but something about him instantly made Eve uncomfortable and she decided to head back home.  Walking briskly the opposite way and turning around frequently to make sure she wasn’t being followed, she didn’t see the man step out of the hedges in front of her.  She collided with him and he wrapped her up in a strong embrace, holding his hand over her mouth.

He whispered, “Hello, Eve, I’m so glad to finally meet you.”  Frantically, she kicked him and tried to bite his hand, while all the dots connected in her teenage brain.  All the warnings from her parents.  All the secrecy, all the lies came to light in that moment.  This was her prince charming, who called her beautiful and he was kidnapping her and taking her away from everything she loved.  If only she had listened.

Eve pushed those thoughts out of her mind for now.  Right now, she had to summon the courage to get up and run out of this dungeon she had been trapped in for two long miserable years.  She had to make her jello legs work and her mind formulate a plan.  She hadn’t made any decisions for herself for so long it was feeling impossible to decide what to do now. 

Where would she go?  She had no idea what lay outside these walls.  She didn’t know if she could make it on her weak legs and she had no shoes.  She wasn’t sure if she was even close enough to humanity to get any help.  All she knew was there was an unlocked door and freedom on the other side. 

Eve was terrified of taking this chance of escape.  She didn’t know what new horror might lie outside that unlocked door.  She waited what felt like eternity trying to figure out if she had the courage to take the step.  Finally, with every ounce of courage she had she lifted herself up and crept to the door.  The faded beat-up blue truck was gone for now.  Deciding that circling the house and running the opposite way of the long gravel drive-way was the best thing to do, she took off at a run, stumbling and falling flat on her face, because she kept turning around afraid to catch a glimpse of that faded blue. 

Eve ran for what felt like forever, she was panting, her heart beating out of her chest, legs burning and mind racing with all the unknowns, but she ran until could run no more.  Just when she thought she was about to die, Eve saw lights from a house in the distance.  She was so relieved to see civilization she collapsed in the field, hoping to regain her composure before she approached the little white farm house. 

Hearing the bark of dogs coming closer to her, Eve tried to pick herself up to see where they were coming from.   Weak and feeling like she might faint, she didn’t have the strength, so she just lay there waiting for the unknown.  A few steps away a woman called out to her dogs to heel, approaching to see what kind of animal they had found.  She gasped when she saw the crumpled shape laying in the tall grass in front of her.  Leaning down beside Eve, she swept the matted hair off her forehead and said, “Oh, honey, you’ve been through something bad, but you’re ok now.” 

Tears of relief and gratitude stung Eve’s eyes and she passed out right there knowing that she had finally made it to freedom. 

For Eve the fear of escaping and the unknown was almost stronger than her fear of the pain she knew.  The pain you know is sometimes more comfortable than the fear of the unknown.  That’s why we stay where we are for so long… because at least we know what to expect. 

In John chapter five, Jesus approaches a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years.  He’s laying on his mat at the pool Bethesda and Jesus comes to him, leans down and says, “Do you want to be made whole?” 

The man begins to make excuses for his situation, but Jesus getting to the heart of the matter says, “Get up, pick up your mat and walk”.  Instantly, the man was healed, he picked up his mat and went on his way.

But, there were many, many people there that day and no one else healed…  Why?  Probably because the fear of the unknown was stronger than the pain they were in.   

Jesus wants us to see that unlocked door and take the chance on freedom.  He is asking each of us today…  Do you want to be made whole?   It may be scary, and you may only see one small step at a time but get up and take the chance.  The pain and fear you know is clouding your sense and keeping you from the freedom on the other side of that door.  Freedom is waiting...  Jesus is waiting.   Don't let the pain you've become so comfortable with keep you from taking that chance.