Monday, March 9, 2009

danelle

so i head over to mary's blog to see who posted
about the women in their lives yesterday. and i
find my son posting something that makes me cry.
and no...it's not about me....it's way better!

check it out:

I've had such great female influences in my life. My mother, for starters. While she did the obvious nine months of hard labor, she went above and beyond, and made mothering an ART. I'm grateful to her every day.

I've had an amazing principal who not only taught me about school and live, but sadness and death and how to die a full life.

But the woman I'd like to honor today does not consider herself a shining star in the sky of life. Her name is Danelle.

My brothers and I met Danelle on what I sincerely hope was the worst day of her life - because it should never be that bad again. We were all in my brother's pickup truck, going to race go karts at the parking lot. We passed this couple standing on the side - "Help, help! Call the police!" We thought she was laughing - she was sobbing. Her boyfriend had beaten her face bloody.

The guys and I had never witnessed domestic violence before. It affected us profoundly. We sat with her while we waited for the cops, her coward long since fled. Standing with her at times, and backing far enough away so she could cry without inhibition, we finally brought her home to mom so she could get herself cleaned up. While it was only a small gash above her right eye, the resulting hole in her soul is one I'll never forget.

I'd like to take this opportunity to honor Danelle, as I have a feeling she's never been honored before. I haven't seen her since, and will probably never see her again. While she'll never know, she has affected me greatly in my journey of life, and to understand. For this, I honor her, cry with her, and lift her up. I really hope she's found some peace.

Bless you, Danelle.

2 comments:

Merry ME said...

I cried too!
No big surprise, there - I cried at almost every comment. I felt so proud to be given the opportunity to hear about all these great women. And here's what I really think is cool. I am guessing that none of these women would have given a second thought to what they were doing that marked an event or turning point in another person's life. They just did what they are born to do ... love. I don't know why some get it and some don't. But it is the way of the world. Thank goodness and God bless the ones that do. May their (our?) every day actions of love be the impetus that changes the whole world.

Do you hear a chorus of coca cola drinkers in the back ground? Or feel like humming a chorus or two of Kumbiya? It's corny I know, but I would love to teach the world to sing in perfect har-mo-ny.

And I think I'd like to have Josh leading the band!

Anonymous said...

Your son's honoring of Danelle touched me deeply. Because he will be...correction...is...an honorable man.

Shine on!