THE GIFT

One of the women from church says being able to give massages is a gift, that it's wonderful to be able to heal people's pain. Frankly, I am ashamed to tell people I am studying massage therapy -- I get the feeling people look on me as either a hooker or a glorified hairdresser. I need to be healed, not just to heal.

Another woman in my church teaches school. She says her students are not afraid to tell people if they have problems at home, that way they get people to do more things for them. Of course, some kids will outrightly lie and make up stories. I want to scream and say "I am still hurting from my childhood and more than two years after my father's death it is only getting worse."