"Angie"

By -
I met a young woman this week who turned tricks for money to pay for the drugs she used to numb the pain so she could sleep with men and earn the money that feeds her addiction and fuels her fantasy that Love can be bought or sold. It's a never ending circle of pain and confusion, cover up and callousness.

"Angie" is in a residential rehab for women-- trying to get clean from the crack cocaine she began using at 15. At 22 she is frail and tired and wants to quit...She needs to quit...if she ever wants to see her 3 month old baby again. Now a ward of the state, her baby has given her hope...The belief that her life is worth saving-even though the drugs tell her she's not.

"Angie" is the product of sexual and physical abuse...She is a grown woman who carries the wounded child within...into every unhealthy decision she makes. The father of her child says he Loves her and she believes she Loves him...but he hits her...and calls her ugly names-when things don't go his way.

We talked and she cried and she let down her guard just long enough to hear someone say that her life has value...that her past is over...that this day and this moment is all that matters...Her time...to let go of her pain, to forgive herself and others...and to believe deeply that she is alive because...God has willed it...and she is part of a greater plan.

"Angie" has been called...and she has been chosen...to stand out...to be an example of the healing power of divine Love...That intangible force of energy that transcends time or space...but is visualized here...in the miracle moments that make men and women extraordinary examples.

She hugged me and thanked me for listening...said she was thankful for coming to this meeting...that something had told her to be there. I smiled and thanked her...for giving me the gift of seeing the power of God at work in her life and in mine. I told her to always listen to that silent voice that nudges us into action...the one that prods us to respond...The gentle, compassionate voice of God...the one that is always guiding us...and giving us all the Love we need-unconditionally...and without all the heartache.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SUBLIME AUDACITY!

By -
Image
I have all the signs and symptoms of something I just learned about today...Sublime Audacity. That's right...I have the audacity to believe-that anything is possible-anything at all-with God. In fact, I believe that there is one cure for all the world's ills...and that cure rests with -and in God. In a world of material wealth, individual desires and carefully orchestrated managed care...When people search the world over for the answers that never come, the healings that rarely happen and the hope that always gets dashed by the next person...I believe that there is only one steady stream of consciousness that always gets it right...and that is God. I've personally experienced it time and again and every time I look elsewhere or seek some other solution, I always come crawling back to the staying power of my higher power...Because let's face it...Once we have the audacity to tell anyone-anyone at all that God is responsible for all the good in our lives or the Love that
Read more

OUR LADY OF JOY, HANCEVILLE ALABAMA

By -
Image
High atop a hill in Hanceville Alabama, broken hearts are being healed and hope is being restored. Our Lady of Joyful Hope is a community of young men who are finding new freedom through a life of authentic truth. Once lost in the darkness of addiction they are now living in the light of Christ who is transforming them from the inside out...And their families, if they are open and willing, are being transformed right alongside them. Recently, I spent three days with this community, listening to the young men, their parents and to the foundress, Mother Elvira, who flew in from Italy for the anointing of the new community house and the celebration that followed. Mother Elvira's life story is on par with Mother Teresa. She is an Italian nun who heard the call from God to snatch souls from Satan by delivering young men and women from the demonic grip of addiction. She gave up everything familiar, walked straight into the wilderness and wound up becoming a living legacy for desperate fa
Read more

CONFESSIONS OF FATHER JOE BENSON

By -
As we sat in silence, meditating...I nudged my friend Terri, "What do we have to complain about?!" I whispered. There he hung, pain stricken, vulnerable in his nakedness, sharp thorns cutting into his head, pleading eyes fixed on the heavens. What I thought, on God's green earth, do I have to complain about?! That's probably why they do it...place the life like crucifix dead center-above the altar, just above the Blessed Sacrament, right where you can't miss it...just to remind us-things could be worse, but they're destined to get better-if we keep our eyes focused-on the solution. Another friend-likes to remind me-he's not on the cross anymore...So why do we keep him there? Every one's got an opinion, but to tell you the truth, I need to be reminded of the sacrifice...and every painful moment in between. Puts my problems in perspective...helps me see clearly...gives me strength to proceed. We went to first Friday adoration in the upper ninth ward..
Read more