Alyssa Moves Away from the Occult and Towards God's Grace

By Rev. Dean Weber, Chaplain, Mary Kendall Campus

“I want to be baptized,” Alyssa said to me. Her request came like a thunderbolt, considering what I learned about her emotional and spiritual beliefs since she arrived at the Children’s Home.
Alyssa’s young life was layered with loneliness, dysfunction and escape from reality. Her mother was in a psychiatric institution with no hope of release. Her father had never been in her life. Alyssa grew up in the care of her grandparents. Their health issues were so time consuming that it prevented any bonding with Alyssa. Therefore, out of loneliness, Alyssa found solace in a vivid and false world of the occult. She came to believe in mystical words and objects with unique powers. She cast ‘spells’ to harm those she disliked and protect those she agreed with.
She stayed up all night involved in her occult practices and slept all day to avoid human connection. This gave her a sense of power and control. She became demanding and had violent outbursts towards her grandparents. Once, she cast a ‘spell’ on her grandfather, asking that he would drown while fishing.
Unable to deal with Alyssa’s anger, her grandparents turned to the staff of the Mary Kendall Children’s Home for help.
The carefully planned program of treatment at the United Methodist Children’s Home matched the needs in Alyssa’s life.
First, she had to understand why she had become dependant upon the occult and spell-casting, which was an effort to exert control within her life. However, a life given to God allows us to lay our burdens on Him and let go of control.
Second, Alyssa began to understand that “the creative power of the universe” came from the God spoken of in the Bible—not ‘spells’ intended to protect or condemn people or cause events to happen. God controls the outcome of the world, not cleverly spoken incantations or spell-casting.
Third, the vivid creatures which populated her fictional world had to be understood as imaginary. Instead she needed to understand the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is God all in one. God is the source for positive, healing power in this world.
Finally, Alyssa had to understand that the ‘magic’ and all of its trappings placed her at the center of the world, in contrast to the Christian understanding, where God is the center of the world. We are the receivers of the gifts, not the source of the power in the world.
Christianity helped Alyssa realize why people are flawed and sometimes do bad things. Gradually, her anger began to defuse. She started understanding the concept of grace because humanity fails and is sinful. Once her anger was gone, Alyssa saw others as needing God’s grace, strength, and forgiveness—just like herself. Alyssa’s attitude and approach to life softened. She became a ‘seeker’ of truth — a disciple of the One who truly knows about life.
Alyssa attended ‘Reflections’ groups led by me on Wednesdays. On Thursday she went to Campus Chapel. On Sundays she visited churches in the community. Staff members gave her gentle guidance and advice. She also met with me on a weekly basis.
In our Spiritual Life program, youth learn the teachings of Jesus and how to adapt them to everyday situations and temptations. Gradually they are shown how positive values and morals could lead to a happy and successful life.
On a mid-summer day, in the presence of her cottage friends, staff, and a family member, Alyssa was baptized. She asked that the baptism be outside in a river, so she could ‘watch her sins float away’. Under the bright summer sun, a new child of God was born.
At the United Methodist Children’s Home, we work hard to help youth understand their troubled hearts. We accept them into our hearts and teach them a different way to feel about their painful experiences. One step at a time, we strive to show the youth who really created the universe, who really loves us and, ultimately, where we can really find peace that passes all understanding.