MessagesofLove_TrueLoveShouldntHurt

Welcome to The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory Women's Ministries Website

Women’s Ministries Programs

Theme:

“Messages of Love”

True Love Shouldn’t Hurt

Blanche Reynolds

Education—April 2008

Introduction

The subject of abuse is very difficult for many people to talk about or deal with. It has many facets: elder abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse. It would be difficult to cover all of these subjects in one program. Therefore, you may want to choose one area depending on the age and needs of your group. Whatever area you choose, be prepared with a list of resources where women in your community can go to get help to deal with that particular problem.

Program Suggestions

Once you’ve decided on the area of abuse that you would like to cover, secure a speaker on that subject. You can check with your local hospital, women’s shelter, police department, adult rehabilitation department, social service departments or area agency on

aging for possible speakers.

Sexual and Domestic Violence

Statistics indicate that one in five women have been sexually abused at some time in their life. Therefore there is a good possibility that some of the women in your group will have

been abused. The following are helpful Internet sites:

♥ www.batteredwomen.com—information regarding battered women

♥ www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo—US Department of Justice site, office of violence against women

♥ http://www.ndvh.org—national domestic violence hotline

Elder Abuse

If your women are elderly or have elderly parents, you might want to discuss elder abuse. There are many excellent Internet sites. Here are a few:

v www.elder-abuse-information.com—information on abuse regarding seniors

v www.elderabusecenter.org—National Center on elder abuse

v www.apa.org/pi/aging/eldabuse.

html—Contains a brochure produced by APA’s Office on Aging concerning elder abuse.

Child Abuse

How do you recognize an abused child? How do you prevent it? Could some of the children attending your corps fall into this category? Possibly some of the women in your group are struggling not to be an abuser. The following sites are helpful if you are

planning on exploring this subject.

s www.childabuse.com—information on the kinds of child abuse

s www.calib.com/nccanch—National clearing house on child abuse and neglect information

s www.childhelpusa.org—Child Help USA, information on the treatment and prevention of child abuse

Abuse Information

For general information on the various types of abuse, the following is a good site—www.abuse.co. There are books available on all types of abuse. Many can be found in

your local library.

Devotions

God’s Love

During the altar call one Sunday evening at the corps, a young woman came forward and began weeping. When I went to pray with her, she kept repeating, “You saved my life!” I asked her, “How?” She said that she was living in the emergency shelter with her children but had been afraid to leave her room for fear of being killed. Her children had begged her to go at least as far as the lobby. After several days and with the encouragement of other residents and the officer at the shelter, she finally ventured to the lobby. There on the wall was a plaque with the following words:

“While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry, as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight—I’ll fight to the very end!”

—William Booth, Founder of The Salvation Army

She looked at the plaque and read it over and over again. Slowly she gained the courage to step out on the stoop, then to the sidewalk. Then one day she walked one block with her children, then another, then another. She found that she had the courage to face each new day. She realized that God would be with her in her daily life. “God led the way,”

she said, “and I followed.”

True love shouldn’t hurt. When we follow Him, He will lead us. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

In this verse we see:

1. God’s motive—Love

2. God’s measure—He gave His one and only Son

3. God’s miracle—He did it for you and for me

There was once a little girl who said to her mother “Today I’m going to be sad.” When her mother asked her why, she said, “Because when you’re sad the teacher gives you a hug.” Today, hug someone and tell them “God loves you and so do I.”