thankful

This isn't necessarily about parenting a teen, but it's life stuff and about parents, so........

I was doing my usual Tuesday night routine last night when I got sidetracked by another mom at church. We began talking and before I knew it, I was hearing the most horrific stories of her childhood and that of her husband. There were several times I wanted to cry. But I didn't want to start an emotional scene. What I heard connected the rest of the pieces of the puzzle for me though. I have felt since the day we began going to this church that she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. And now I know why.

I found myself wondering what it would have been like to grow up in that world. Where you were never safe. Never loved. Never protected. It was devastating to me to even think about. I thanked God that He put in me the ability to love my daughter and to protect her and to try and do my best for her each day. And then I thanked God for my parents. And even though they weren't perfect, they never perpetrated these horrible offenses against me. And I survived w/a little of my sanity at least. I cried myself to sleep a little. Feeling as if there was something I needed to do to *rescue* this family. That's me, Mrs. Fix It. But then I realized that there is nothing that I can do. The damage has been done. The only one who can fix this now is God. He has the power to heal and restore. So that is my prayer for this family. Healing & Restoration.

But I am thankful beyond measure for what He has done in my life and how He has led me all these years down the path that He has. And how He has delivered me from a multitude of past hurts and sins that I have committed. God is good!! And I pray that someday O will have a fire for the Lord that burns so brightly no one will be able to extinguish it. And that she will look back on her childhood years and have good memories of things we've done together and the life that we all shared.

God Bless every family ~