A Different Kind of “Left Behind” Story

Watching Nicholas Cage in the Left Behind movie reminded me of a time over ten years ago. I read that Cage’s mother suffered from depression, having to be hospitalized during his childhood, so because I went through a similar scenario with my mother, I wanted to write and encourage him. Nicholas Cage’s superstar status didn’t scare me. I spent almost twenty years as a sports reporter covering superstar athletes, and learned early on that timidity would not get me the interview.

As I was driving to work, I began to draft the letter in my mind, when my whole world turned upside down, literally. The highway flipped from one side to the other, causing my heart to race. I immediately pulled over, frightened, and shaking after what happened. But numerous heart tests later, doctors were unable to figure out why my world went topsy-turvy, and referred to it as an “event” they could not explain. All I know is that because of it, I never revisited the letter to Cage.

But today, in light of the release of Left Behind, the timing seems right to share with you what I would have said had I followed through on that correspondence. Instead of a letter addressed to Cage, this one is to all of you who have ever been “left behind” emotionally or physically by a parent.

Dear Wounded Ones,

You may still be running from parents who disappointed you as a child. Maybe they didn’t love you enough. Maybe they hurt you repeatedly. Maybe they were gone all the time, either emotionally, or physically. Could it be that you’re running, because if you stand still too long, you’re worried you’ll become them? I know, because that was my mindset.

Throwing yourself into your career may help you manage the pain. Alcohol and drugs may anesthetize you, so you don’t feel the pain. A life in another city or state may distance you from the pain, but it’s only Jesus who can reach into your wound and heal you from the pain.

I know, because when God allowed my television career to crash, and I surrendered my life to him, the first place he went was to the old wounds. He knew unless they were healed, I would never be able to fulfill the destiny he planned for me in ministry.

It was only through the strength of Christ that I gave up a national sports reporting career and moved from the northeast to return home to San Antonio, and honor my mother. Nothing had changed with my mom. In fact, she got worse after I left for college, and was now living in a group home. She still couldn’t give me the love or support I desired, but I was the one who had transformed, and God helped me to see her through his eyes, and to eventually forgive her. By the time she passed away, I can honestly say I loved my mother, nothing short of a miracle.

The Bible says, when we accept Christ, we are a new creation. The old has gone away. In the case of a difficult parent, the old memories are always there, but the chains of the nightmares are broken, and they no longer have the same stranglehold on us. I can’t explain how Christ did it, but he healed me supernaturally when nothing else worked before.

What’s stopping you from letting Jesus do some surgery on your heart? He can’t begin the process of healing you until you invite him in to operate. He’s a physician who understands your pain, better than anyone else.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we consider him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53: 4-5).

If you can’t escape the past, try giving the past, and your life completely to Christ. The Word says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

It’s time to discard all the other short-term remedies, and seek Jesus for eternal help. What do you have to lose? Has anything else worked?

It’s better than being “left behind” again.

Sincerely,

Lisa Burkhardt Worley, Healed and No Longer Running