Loving God, I know that you hold me in the palm of your hand.
I know it is so.
But why, O Lord, why?
I rage at this sin against me, at this defilement of my body,
this assault on my peace of mind.
I mourn my lost serenity, security, confidence;
I mourn the loss of my ease and open nature.
I hate what this assault has done to me.
I feel that my body and soul may never be the same.
What has been forced upon me may not be forgotten.
But send your healing upon me like cool rain.
Soothe my spirit with the balm of your tender love.
Help me to feel secure again, as safe as ever within the shelter
of the Lord.
Let my anger not turn inward to self-loathing,
but outward for action and purpose: to help others like me,
to bring hope to those whose faith is not so strong.
Help me, with your grace,
to move beyond victim, to call myself survivor instead.
May you forgive this man’s offence against me,
and grant me the peace and serenity
of a mind and body made whole again.
Amen.
Julia Park Rodrigues from Women’s Uncommon Prayers: Our Lives Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated. Edited by Elizabeth Rankin Geitz, Marjorie A. Burke, Ann Smith