R-Rated

***WARNING***
This post contains content that may trigger very unpleasant and difficult emotional responses.  Please read with caution.

I have put a picture here so that those who do not want to read it don't encounter the first line of the post.

I listened to a woman get raped last night.

It was 2:32 am, PST.  I had arrived at my South San Francisco hotel not more than an hour ago, exhausted from nearly 10 hours of travel and having tried to sleep on the plane from JFK to SFO.

At first, I heard a bang, like a door was being slammed.  Then a scream, piercing, as if the woman was in pain.  The walls here are not very soundproof.  It too me a few seconds to wake up, but soon I realized that there was a sexual assault happening right next door to me.

I called the hotel operator: "Someone is getting hurt in Room 310.  A woman is screaming."

They said they would take care of it.  I really hope they called the police.  If I hadn't been cautious about my own safety, I would have walked over and banged on the door.

I've known many people who have been raped--and told me about it.  Friends, clients.

I've seen movies about rape, because I think it is an extremely important issue.

I still remember going to the Vagina Monologues in college and learning about the statistic that 1 in 4 women is raped during her lifetime.  That is a very, very high number.

It's one thing to have researched and found your vocation from encountering stories of rape.  It's another thing to actually "hear-witness" it happen, on a completely unexpected night.

I'm still exhausted and a little delirious from traveling and from a few extremely busy weeks of schoolwork.  My vision is a bit blurry, probably from lack of sleep and doing homework on moving vehicles.

But the screams from last night ring clearly in my head, the sounds of a woman begging for a man to stop hurting her.

My desire to be in the world among hurting people has been growing immensely this season, and I have sensed strongly that I am to be a pastor outside the church--a chaplain.  I am more passionate about that than ever this morning, and I pray that wherever the couple is this morning (I think I heard them leave the room later in the night--perhaps hotel management did deal with it) that God's angels will minister to them.

Misogyny is a devilish force that both women and men need redemption from.  This in no way pardons men from the heinous crimes they commit.  I would have beat up the perpetrator last night if I could.  Women have endured unspeakable wrongs at the hands of men and society for far too long.  I stand in the gap for them today, interceding in prayer and claiming my own spiritual authority as a warrior in Christ.

Lord, have mercy.  Christ, have mercy.  In your mercy, judge and convict those of us who treat another human being as less than beautiful and worthy of absolute honor and respect.

Holy Spirit, give me the only thing that can conquer evil in this world.  Give me more of God's love.

Amen.