Huge thanks to my college roommate Connie who shared this speech by Viola Davis with me.
I know this is a commitment, but please take the time to watch this beautiful video. (Trigger warning as it mentions childhood sexual abuse, but not in a graphic way).
Ask yourself:
- What if the church could become a haven like the Stuart House?
- What if we stopped pretending sexual abuse has no scars?
- What if we acknowledged that trauma has deep consequences?
- What if we took Hebrews 13:3b to heart? “Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.”
- What if we asked ourselves, How would Jesus treat a sexual abuse survivor?
If we asked these questions, then dared to act on them with empathy and ears to listen, perhaps we’d be “guilty” of Acts 17:6. They “have turned the world upside down.” Isn’t that the mandate of the Kingdom of God? What is weak is strong. What is held in low esteem is esteemed. What seems worthless actually purports great value. We must live upside down from the world’s chant that the powerful always win.
In this great house cleaning of God, He is marching forward with survivors who educate, the broken who heal, the threatened who now lead the fight for justice.
I love that Viola tells the truth in this video. She doesn’t rush from it, cover it up, or make it palatable. She says her prayers may have been wide and broad, but that the answer to her prayers was specific, in terms of actively helping others, boots to the ground. May that be the way we walk forward: tell the truth, find practical avenues of healing. T
he world needs our voices, even if they be small or scared or trembling. Don’t lose heart. Keep speaking. Keep highlighting the darkness. Keep up the good fight.