One Thing You Cannot Take

For P.T.S.D. sufferers. Burglary and gang-rape are not an easy thing to talk about. It’s even worse to have been the victim. But…there is hope.

I came home from work,
Wanting to go to bed,
But what I saw in the distance,
Caused a pounding in my head.
My stomach was churning,
I wanted to be sick,
And desperately hoped
This was just a silly trick.
From the hallway it was clear
That my laptop had gone,
The television too -
What was going on?
There was glass on the carpet,
From a case that had been locked,
A chair was upside down,
My pathway, completely blocked.

I was shaking, I was crying,
I fell to the floor,
I couldn't be bothered
To shut the front door.
What was the point?
The damage had been done.
Others had privacy,
But me, I had none.
Someone had invaded
And taken part of me.
It wasn't the possessions,
Or the damage I could see.
They'd taken something deeper,
I was feeling so abused.
I'd been violated,
While the guilty were amused.
Laughing at their triumph,
That they'd crept in like a mouse,
This was no longer a home,
But a tainted, creepy house.

Although they were caught,
I did not feel free,
Will they ever know
What they've done to me?
Although they were sentenced,
They'll probably adapt,
Prison life will suit them -
It is me who feels trapped.         

It wasn't even dark
When they grabbed me from behind.
But when my head got covered,
I thought that I'd gone blind.
It happened all so quickly,
They shouted and they swore,
And in a split second,
They had me on the floor.
My heart beat so fast,
It made my chest heave,
Exciting them to complete
What they intended to achieve.
One knelt behind me,
And pinned down each arm,
I begged like a child, 
"Please do me no harm!"
The other lifted a hand,
It came down across my face.
He threatened to strangle me,
With a muddy, black shoelace.
He pulled up my skirt,
I felt as good as dead.
I had no control of
The travesty that lay ahead.
How long did it last?
I can't remember now,
I managed to survive,
But I cannot tell you how.

Burglary and rape 
Can strip you of your senses,
But when the pain comes flooding back,
There's dreadful consequences.
This all happened years ago,
But it seems like yesterday.
The disturbance in our minds
Will not go away.
This all happened years ago,
The offenders are out of jail.
They've forgotten what they did,
But we remember each detail.
This all happened years ago,
But our memories try to tease us,
That is until somebody unknown
Introduced us to Jesus.
As traumatic as it is,
To face each and every day,
Through all the pain we've suffered,
There's one thing we now can say:

You can take our dignity,
And laugh while we cried.
You can take our joy,
And leave us with no pride.
But there's one thing you cannot take
And that fills us with elation,
You can't take our love for Jesus,
And you can't take our salvation.
You can take our possessions,
Stake your claim on all we own,
You can leave us naked in the street,
Vulnerable and all alone.
But when we finally die,
Nothing can be compared,
To the good things God has for us,
All the delights he has prepared.

What God will give back,
Is far more than what you took.
Beign kissed by Jesus,
Outweighs curses from a crook.
You took what you saw,
But you can't possess our soul.
There are gifts for us far precious,
Than anything that you stole.
You ravished my body
And had complete control,
It hurt and I felt wretched,
But inside I am still whole.
You took what was not yours,
But we have gifts you cannot steal,
There's treasure for us in Heaven,
And they are far more real.
God's helps us get out of bed,
And face another day,
We have strength to tell our culprits,
"Forgiveness is on the way."
Jesus is our comforter,
And holds us when we cry,
Some days are bad, but he's promised us
No more tears when we die.
Such hope is indescribable,
It brings so much release.
We never thought our minds
Could feel supernatural peace.
He died to set us free,
He suffered for our sake,
We've accepted his salvation
And that you cannot take!

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world, that he even gave his one and only son, so whoever believes and trusts in him as Saviour, shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 Amplified)