Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart is an absolutely amazing woman. Her story of terror and imprisonment have captivated the nation for years because her strength and power to endure her captivity well and to take messages of hope and healing to thousands of other victims like her.
Late last year, she starting telling her story. Her book, My Story, details her 9 month captivity and Elizabeth’s amazing growth and strength. The perspective she had as a 14 year old is extremely admirable and almost shocking as you read through the terrible struggles she faced. She says in her book,
“I don’t think what happened to me was something God intended. he surely would not have wished the anguish and torment that I was about to go through upon anyone, especially upon a child . . . Yes, God can make some good come from evil. But even He, in all His majesty, won’t make evil go away. Men are free . . . When faced with pain and evil, we have to make a choice. We can choose to be taken by the evil. Or we can try to embrace the good.” (pg. 9)
[pull_quote_right]I don’t think what happened to me was something God intended.[/pull_quote_right]
Embrace the good?! I marvel that she was able to see anything good at all in her situation. In an interview she did with Meredith Viera on Dateline in late 2013, she discussed her confusion and disgust with her situation and herself.
“I was left alone feeling absolutely broken, absolutely shattered, I was broken beyond repair. I was going to be thrown away. I remember lying there and thinking of the children whom I had seen on the news where only the bodies had been found. And I remember thinking, “Wow, they are the lucky ones. They will never have to feel this pain ever again. They’re in heaven right now and I wish I could be there.” “You wanted to die?” “Yes.”
“Did you even feel like a person?” “No. How could I? I mean, here I was a 14 year old girl, ripped form my family, being raped every day, not knowing when I’d be able to eat next, not knowing when I’d be able to drink next and being chained to a tree, I didn’t feel human.” “What does that do to a child?””I don’t think there’s anything worse you can do to a child.”
In her book, My Story, she goes on to say,[quote_box_center]“Imagine you have a beautiful crystal vase. Then imagine that you accidentally knock it of the table and it shatters into pieces on the floor. We all understand it isn’t the vase’s fault that it shatters into pieces in the floor. We all understand it isn’t the vase’s fault that it was pushed off the table and shattered. But still, it is broken. It is worthless. you don’t want it anymore. So you sweep it up and throw away the pieces. That is how I felt.” (pg. 48)[/quote_box_center]
Feeling powerless, worthless, impure and living in constant fear of not only her captors but the rejection from the world she hoped to return to. Nothing could have adequately prepared her for this terrible experience but Elizabeth has shown concern about giving young people the tools to deal with physical and spiritual abuse.Her strength has continued to influence the world for the better in the creation of the Elizabeth Smart foundation which matches the goals of her speaking all over the country, to promote the cause of healing for victims of sexual abuse.
In a speech she gave at Johns Hopkins University last year, Elizabeth expressed her frustration at how teaching abstinence in some ways do not adequately prepare those who will be abused in their lives and how important it is to educate children on their infinite worth and the eternal love that God has for each of us. Her full speech is incredible and I would highly recommend you read or watch it here. (I have the speech typed up and in a separate article with the video)
She reminded me that our purity is determined by our choices and by our hearts. Being taken advantage of and being abused is not the victim’s fault and they are still as pure as they were before because their pure hearts were defiled by the evil of men. Smart reminded us that victims can come to a better understanding of themselves and their situation through education and by taking advantage of the healing balm of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Elizabeth relied on her mother’s wise advice to her in the aftermath of her ordeal that has helped her and thousands more deal with their trials. Her mother is quoted in My Story saying,
[quote_center]”Elizabeth, what this man has done is terrible. There aren;t any words that are strong enough to describe how wicked and evil he is! He has taken nine months of your life that you will never get back again. But the best punishment you could ever give him is to be happy. To move forward with your life. To do exactly what you want . . . At the end of the day, God is our ultimate judge. he will make up to you every pain and loss that you have suffered, And if it turns out that these wicked people are not punished here on Earth, it doesn’t matter. His punishments are just. You don’t ever have to worry. you don’t have to even think about them again . . . You be happy, Elizabeth. Just be happy. If you go and feel sorry for yourself, or if you dwell on what has happened, if you hold on to your pain, that is allowing him to steal more of your life away. So don’t do that! Don’t you let him! There is no way that he deserves that. Not one more second of your life. You keep every second for yourself. You keep them and be happy. God will take care of the rest.” (pg. 285-286)[/quote_center]
Elizabeth Smart reminds me, and each of us, of the enduring power of the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.We cannot escape from the terrors of the fallen world in which we live. But we can choose to be like Elizabeth Smart and use our experiences to grow and to allow our growth to influence others for the better. There is always hope for a new day and a new life and a new start. The wonderful gift from God to us is the ability to change for the better through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.