Betrayal, a prayer for the brokenhearted

Cw: Abuse, victimization, implied sexualization

God,

One of my kids former teachers

betrayed the school,

(himself, his family, his students, and most of all his fellow teachers)

and got arrested today–

and my eldest,

with tears streaming down his face

said he couldn’t believe it.

And I had to say, I wouldn’t lie to you about this

and sometimes people make bad choices

and sometimes those people are especially nice to hide their faultiness.

And I thought about, how, almost every place I lived,

there was an adult lurking, who wasn’t safe.

Was this how it felt Jesus?

When Judas betrayed you?

Even though you knew it was coming,

surely at some point he was a true disciple,

Surely you really wanted him to be your real friend Jesus.

And so I wrapped my child in my arms, and I told him:

The bad doesn’t take away the bad one does, but the bad doesn’t take away the good either.

And that we hoped he would get the help he needed, to truly and actually change.

And I imagine that you do the same.

Wrapping us in your arms,

coaxing us towards love, and grace, and forgiveness.

Because, sometimes we feel that brokenness all too sharply.

Please be with us when we betray or are betrayed we pray.

Because Christians and leaders and mentors are not perfect,

and it’s so important to have people we can trust in our lives.

When we are brokenhearted wrap us in your arms,

and remind us of that we are loved and worthy of love, we pray.

Amen.

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta