as soon as I shut the door behind me she just started crying. She
didn’t even say anything for the first few minutes, she just cried. I
sat with her and held her while she cried. She told me that the
previous night she went to a party there and got drunk and almost
lost her virginity to some guy. This girl had never kissed a boy
before, she had never been drunk before, she went [to] a Christian
school since kindergarten. She’s a good girl. She told me she would
have never done that much with him if she hadn’t been drinking.
She went on and on about how this isn’t who she is, she’s not this
kind of person. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen somebody
cry this much.
She hadn’t told anyone what had happened. She was angry, sad,
disappointed, and broken. She knew my past and had seen the
change in my life and she said she needed to tell somebody so bad
and that I was the only person she knew who would understand. And
I did. I knew exactly how she felt. I knew every single name she had
for herself. I know what it feels like to wake up the next morning
and hate yourself. Five minutes into our conversation she asked if I
would pray for her. I said of course and I laid my hands on her and I
prayed. She was crying the entire time and my eyes were watering as
I prayed out loud for her. She told me she didn’t know if she could
ever forgive herself and I just shared with her everything I know so
far, and it wasn’t anything she hasn’t heard before but I think it was
different because she was desperate. I reminded her of God’s grace
and forgiveness and love. I read her the verses you gave me and told
me to memorize: 2 Corinthians 5:17–20; 1 John 1:9; James 5:16.
And I’m sure she’s heard them before but she just soaked each
verse in, I think because she needed them now more than ever. I
suggested that she pray and tell God what happened, to receive
forgiveness, and comfort, and to begin the healing process. She said
that she has felt so distant from God lately. That she knows He’s
there but she doesn’t feel Him. She told me how badly she wants to
feel Him and feel His presence, how badly she wants to believe that
He’s there. I told her to tell God exactly what she just told me. So
she prayed. For a good amount of time she just laid everything down