As sixth grade girls, we just wanted to ice skate and not be bothered by the boys who circled us continually with their taunts. It had been going on all afternoon. We had moved to various places on the ice rink to avoid them, but they soon showed up to spoil our fun. If we used a scarf for a game, they would swoop in and steal it. One minute we would be talking to each other, and the next we would be chasing them down trying to recover our stocking caps that they had whisked by and yanked off of our heads. It was becoming exhausting. For a day that was supposed to be fun and free of school, it was turning into aggravation for the five of us. Back then, we didn't realize that the boys wanted girls to chase them; we just thought they were annoying. We had repeatedly asked them to quit, but they persisted.

I noticed that one boy, Paul, seemed to be instigating the whole thing. He would whisper something to one of his friends who would then skate over to one of the girls and carry out his command. He would then stand back and laugh as he watched his friends torment the girls. I observed this over and over as he did this to all of my friends. After awhile, instead of passively standing by, I went after the ring leader. When Paul had his back turned I snatched his hat off his head and took off skating as fast as I could. But, instead of letting him chase me, I dropped his hat and skated away. This enraged him. He lined up all of his "men" in a row side by side. In response, the girls and I linked arms and stood directly across from them. In the middle of a community skating rink, a face off was taking place. Paul skated to the middle ground of the two groups and with his hockey stick, he drew a line on the ice. With squinted eyes he declared, "No girl crosses this line." He then resumed his place beside his friends.

I felt a strange feeling rise up in me. At eleven I had never experienced this feeling before of wanting to stand up for myself and my friends while someone stripped away our freedom. What right did they have to tell us where to go? I looked up and down our line and saw no one move. Were we going to stand for this? I unlinked myself from the group and skated to the line etched in the ice. I looked every boy in the eye. Most of them looked at me with puzzled expressions. I ever so gracefully put my hands on my hips, stuck out my tongue at Paul and gently placed my toe over the line.

Everything happened very quickly from that point on. I recall Paul letting out a battle cry, and my reaction was to flee. My friends went in all directions as the boys came at us. I was skating to the point of my leg muscles burning, and I did the unthinkable. When outrunning an opponent, one is never to look back. However, I could hear him breathing in loud angry puffs, so I knew I was not far ahead of him. I turned my head to look over my left shoulder to gage his distance from me. To my horror, I saw his hockey stick raised above my head like a hatchet ready to come down. And, come down it did. Right on my left eye.

In a split second, I went from standing to laying face first on ice. Immediately, there was pain. I don't know how long I lay there, but my friends eventually helped me up. When the boys saw what had happened to my face, they suddenly scattered and disappeared. I saw Paul before I left for home. With my good eye I glared as I passed him by. I could see fear in his eyes. He must have assumed that I was going home to tell my parents and in turn, they would call his. But, that is not how it turned out. My parents wanted to call his parents, but I would not let them. For the next few days at school I was teased for having a black eye. Every time Paul saw me in the hall, he put his head down and walked away quickly.

Even now, when I am applying eyeshadow to my left eyelid, I can still see the faint indication of a scar where the hockey stick bit into my skin. As I have aged, it has blended in with the crows feet, but I can still see it. And, it reminds me that I crossed a line that had been drawn. I have come to ponder this whole experience in two ways. The first is that as Christians, when our rights and our freedoms are being stripped from us, are we going to just stand by and submit ourselves to that? Or are we going to rise up and fight? Just as this boy unfairly declared the ice off limits to us girls, we as Christians are sometimes told to be quiet and not speak about our faith. We see it happen in our government, in our schools and in our marketplace. From the taking away of the word "prayer" in public school, to the notion of banishing the word "Christmas" in favor of "the Holidays". Slowly, these lines are being drawn to limit our freedom. Are we willing to risk being bold enough to stand up and tell the line drawers that we don't like what they are attempting to do?

Now, the second thought I have is that we may cross a line that God never intended us to cross, and we can cause all sorts of trouble for ourselves and the name of Jesus which we represent. If I had just not called his bluff, Paul's hockey stick may not have met my eye that day. Could I have bypassed a world of pain and a black eye by just skating away? Did I use good judgment or was my attitude rebellious? We have heard and seen news stories of those who say they are a part of God's plan to take revenge on others. The most glaring example is the person who murders an abortionist for their practice. Does God condone murder? Are we crossing lines that God never intended for us to cross and finding ourselves in danger zones where undo pain is produced?

So, what do we do when a line has been drawn? Do we fight, or is it God's desire that we use another avenue to peacefully live with the line or work out a negotiation? The only answer is to pray for discernment. I don't think a lot of people do that. They immediately react out of their emotions and don't even ask the Lord what they should do about the situation. Proverbs 3:5-7 reads,

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
Don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
He's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all. —The Message Bible

From this standpoint, we can see situations from a new perspective. It is as if God lends us a pair of glasses so that we can see what He sees. He speaks to our hearts and instructs us on which way to go. If we lay down our own wants, needs or desires, God can show us the entire picture of a matter so that the best way to handle it can be delivered by us.

In Psalm 119:125-130 we see a person who prays for God's instruction:

I am your servant, give me discernment
that I may understand your statutes.
It is time for you to act, O Lord;
Your law is being broken.
Because I love your commands
more than gold, more than pure gold,
and because I consider all your precepts right,
I hate every wrong path.

Your statues are wonderful,
therefore, I obey them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.

You can feel the injustice that this individual is contending with. They are experiencing something that they feel is clearly wrong. But, the desire to serve God is stronger than their own emotions, so they inquire of Him for understanding. I believe that as lines are drawn before us in our daily life, God desires for us to be equipped with wisdom and His discernment ahead of time so we know whether we are to toe the line or not. In this way, we would obey the Lord, react the right way, and maybe, avoid an unnecessary black eye.

Copyright © by Christine Prueher Share