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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword (04/08/10)
“Jesus loves me, this I know...”


Curled up in bed she finds no escape from Mommy’s piercing cries. Softly she tiptoes to the window sill and looks longingly out into the heavens, as if searching for an old friend. She knows her home is out there and a heavenly, loving Papa awaits her return. Since learning “Jesus Loves Me” at Vacation Bible School one summer, she drew much comfort and hope. Peering impatiently into the dark, star filled expanse, she pleads with her Papa. “I don’t like it here anymore, Papa. Please send an angel to take me back home.”

Only five years old, she knows fear… fear of her stepfather. He’s hurting Mommy now, and she’s afraid she’ll soon be the next victim of his drunken rage. Trembling with dread and hatred, she hears him bellowing for her. The routine is humiliating. He forces her to remove her clothes and stand before him naked, then proceeds to beat her with his army belt. Glaring into his eyes with intense rage, she is most afraid of crying, not the pain he inflicts. He mustn’t know he has hurt her; she must remain strong. “Please, Papa. I’m so afraid. I want to come home.”

“For the Bible tells me so...”


Stumbling through school with average grades and many sick days, she grows slowly into an angry, stubborn, withdrawn young girl. Teachers comment on her report card, “She will not act like a young lady. She’s always fighting with the boys.” Home life is chaotic. Constantly on guard when her depraved stepfather is present, she keeps mainly to her bedroom or stays outside until nightfall. His lack of morals is evident as he prowls the house, naked except for a newspaper shielding his privates. “Thank you, Papa, for making me strong and protecting me. I wish Mommy would be robust enough to leave this nasty person. I asked her one day why she puts up with the abuse and she said, ‘Because I love him.’ Watch over me, Lord, and I still want to come home but I don’t know how to make that happen.”

“Little ones to Him belong...”


Many years passed and the young girl is a happily married mother of four. Life was good for the first few years, but overshadowing this semblance of normalcy was the Viet Nam war. “Papa, watch over my husband and protect him from harm and send him home to us soon. The kids really miss their daddy. Thank you.”

“They are weak but He is strong...”


Daddy returned from war a stranger, dishing out physical and mental abuse on a daily basis to the young wife. Physical battles occurred with resulting scratches and bruises. Before long Mommy had become the villain, according to Daddy. He encouraged the kids to hit her, declaring her an unfit mommy. The Sears & Roebuck catalog was searched routinely for a new mommy. Divorce ensued after Mommy got on a greyhound bus headed for nowhere, left her whole world behind and called it quits to the abuse. Due to the fierceness and severity of the divorce dynamics, the young mother had only one viable option regarding her children. She had to leave them in the care of their father. There were no safe houses, no support for abused families in those days, and she had no family support or a job. Her husband promised to shoot her if she applied for a divorce, removing the children out of state would result in a kidnapping charge, and both options were not in the best interest of the kids. A dead mom and a lifer-in-prison dad were not good alternatives. So she walked. And inside…died…for a long while. “Please take care of my children, Papa, and protect them from harm. I know You are stronger than anything life can throw at them, and they are good kids. They are my life. I give them back into Your hands. I know I will see them again someday; that’s all that matters. I love you, Papa!”


Epilogue:
Long ago Anna B. Warner penned the song, “Jesus Loves Me.” A young woman took those words to heart and believed them and staked her life on them. Why? The Bible told her so! The Word of God is far mightier than abuse, fear, threats and even death itself.
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This article has been read 1395 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
04/15/10
This is a very powerful essay. It brought me to tears and hopefully will give someone who is being abused right now the strength to do something about it. Thank you for the inspirational message.
Brenda Shipman
04/19/10
Precious heartrending story. God can use the simplest message to bring profound comfort and strength. I liked how you included the lines of the song in the story. Very nicely done.
PamFord Davis 
04/22/10
A tragic story.
A story of emotional and physical pain.
A story of faith.
A story of hope.
A story of love for children.
A story which will have a happy ending:
Cherished in Papa's warm embrace.