Here's Proof That All Things Can Work For Good

Not long ago, a girl named Cindy came to Teen Challenge. She had dark hair, brown eyes and a beautiful smile although we did not see that smile very often at first.

What we did see were the tears and pain that clouded her eyes and anguish we knew only God could heal. In a hundred ways, we showed her that we loved her and God did too. As her trust slowly built, Cindy poured out her sad, awful story.

When she was just a little girl, someone in her family brutally robbed Cindy of the precious gift of purity given to all children. Sadly, the sexual abuse happened not once, not twice but too many times to count for horrible years.

Would it surprise you if I told you that almost 8O% of our female students here in Teen Challenge of Southern California have suffered from sexual abuse and almost 50% of our male students? It's true.

Every time it happened to little Cindy, she felt dirty inside. Ugly. Worthless. Year after year, her fragile emotions grew more and more scarred. By the time she reached the tender age of nine, Cindy wanted to kill herself.

All too often, sexual abuse drives young people like Cindy to frantically search for "real love" -- just like a blow to the stomach leaves you gasping for oxygen.

But with no guidance, these kids look for love in the worst places. Many turn to promiscuity, drugs and alcohol.

That's what Cindy did. Tragically, she never found the genuine affection she craved.

Instead, she was raped at 14 . . . got pregnant . lost her child . . . was "jumped" by gang members . . . and overdosed on drugs. All before dropping out of 10th grade.

Not surprisingly, Cindy told us, "I was an emotional wreck, ready to give up, and I wanted to die."

But you know what? God specializes in hopeless cases. People who hit rock bottom. Like Cindy.

Through Teen Challenge, she began to experience the Holy Spirit's incredible healing power. She let God's Word wash over her soothing her soul and cleansing away the deep-rooted pain and anguish locked up inside.

We call this process "Emotional Healing." It's the critical second step after our students accept Jesus. It must happen for a young person to succeed.

And no matter how messy or ugly a young person's past has been, emotional healing can take place, But it requires prayer and support from friends like you.