The Spiritual Battle in “The Aftermath”

Written by Elizabeth Harvey of Needham, MA

Jason has been at war with himself for a long time. He has such a strong void in his life and he knows that something is missing and he hates that feeling. Jason relies on drugs and alcohol to cope with the missing piece in his life: God. Throughout the story there is a fierce battle over Jason’s soul and because he has so much potential, he is the perfect target that Satan seeks out and tries to lead into darkness. Jason seeks out challenges and fun, but because of who his friends and family is, this meant partying. The misconception that Jason developed in middle school about Priest’s molesting children completely destroyed him. Everything that he grew up knowing was changed in one day, leaving Jason confused and angry. He couldn’t understand how God could allow something like that to happen and this forced him to draw away from religion completely. It took a huge event of Andy’s coma to open Jason’s eyes to the power of prayer.

Jason’s desires began to shift when he started praying and Andy’s accident was an important wake up call in his life that most likely saved him from ruining his future. He has to relearn about the power of God, which is very difficult especially when a majority of your friends only care about when the next party is. Once Jason accepts Christ as his savior, he slowly realizes how beautiful life and relationships can be when they are not clouded with darkness.