"Because I Have No One" He Told Me

1994

names and descriptions have been omitted 

or changed in this post 

******************

"You do not get out of the car… you understand?" Bao asked me, his face directly in mine, peering into my brown eyes in the darkened confines of the car. His longish hair fell into his face and he smoothed it back with one hand. His eyes, inky black that matched the February night sky waited… without blinking for an answer. I nodded at him. He paused... staring at me, not seeming certain I truly understood the importance of his instructions. He spoke again "You do not leave this car under any circumstances. You do not come up to the house." He reiterated once again to me. I nodded and spoke softly "I understand." His eyes studied me and finally he jerked his head in a nod that affirmed he knew I truly understood what he was telling me and then he added "Stay low… do not let anyone see you in the car."

With that he opened the door, slipped out of the drivers seat and slammed the car door shut… making sure the Supra was locked and then followed Duc who was waiting on the nearby lawn of a dilapidated wooden house for him to join him. I had no idea where we were… we had seemingly driven in circles… I was in unknown territory and yet in some way due to Bao's protective behavior that was probably for the best. Duc's vehicle was parked behind Bao's somewhere in the dark shadows of the street and I slumped down in the passenger seat so as not to be seen… checking in the side view mirror for any oncoming headlights… any sign of a vehicle approaching… but all was quiet. It was early February… and yet didn't feel like it at all. For me, the month of February meant hot chocolate, plaid cozy blankets, maybe a fire and a good book or movie in. But those ideals were far from reality now. At least this night didn't feel like winter, I mentally comforted myself… luckily I didn't get chilly waiting and yet time continually passed by… minutes turned into thirty which turned into over an hour… then more.

The house was lit up inside… a picture frame window revealed enough to show at least a dozen men or more… donning wife beater shirts… milling around… beers in hand and mostly serious expressions minus a few chuckles and a slapping on their backs like men do. The largest of the men wore a snug t-shirt that hugged his bulging midsection and sported an overgrown mess of long hair on his head, gold necklaces gracing his neck and a gun shoved in the side waistband of his pants. He was pacing the room like a caged tiger projecting his authority onto the others in the room.

So what were they doing? My mind wondered. In some areas of the country Asian gangs are one of the primary distributors of marijuana… drugs... was that what they were dealing that night? Or was it related to prostitution? Chop shops? Who knew… I could only wonder. Bao always looked out for me and sheltered me as much as possible from his life. Sunk low in the front seat, time passed on and sleep kept beckoning my name… I tried to force my eyelids to stay open… to stay awake… I felt I had to… because I had no idea what was coming… much of my time with Bao involved increments of sleep here or there… it was never knowing what could… or would occur next and it might require me needing to be alert… the hours they lived were inconsistent and scattered.


After what felt like an eternity, Bao unlocked the door and slid in beside me, his warm presence overwhelming the tiny interior… Duc was already gone, having sped off in his own car leaving us on our own. Bao's scent was the smell of cigarettes emanating from him and he reached for my small left hand giving it a momentary squeeze… "Thank you… you are safe." He smiled..."Thank you for staying in the car." He told me, his accent heavy with relief… I gave him a long look, studying his face and finally asked him quietly "Why do you care so much?" I was curious. I wondered why he would care so much for me… he had always looked out for me… never expecting a thing… with everything he had on his plate his worry was for my well being when he was in the midst of who knew how many threats left and right… he now clutched the stick shift and staring straight ahead into the piercing dark night as we departed from the curb, replied with an odd tone in his voice I hadn't heard before… "Because…" he replied tightly with emotion just hovering under his breath… "Because, you… you are like me… I have no one."

****************

Between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away in a year. 

November is National Runaway Prevention Month 

Runaways are a concern for all of us. 

If all of these young people

 lived in one city,

 it would be the

5th largest city

 in the United States.

These figures are staggering, yet the problem seems invisible.

source: http://www.1800runaway.org/promote/prevention_month/nrpm/

Youth ages 12 to 17 are at the highest risk of being homeless versus adults. 

Most youth run away due to conflict between themselves and a parent. 

The majority of runaway girls report sexual abuse. 

The risk of rape 

or sexual favors in exchange for mere basics...

 such as food and shelter is common.

The reason for most youth not wanting to return home? 

The risk of further abuse inflicted by a parent upon return. 

The risk of suicide for 

runaways is high. 

The risk of not finishing high school

 due to running away is high.  

The risk of drug use by 

runaways is high. 

So what we can do? 

You may wonder what on earth 

you can do

 to help with this not often 

talked about but huge issue…

Get involved. 

As a parent, a teacher, a school nurse, a counselor… 

As a friend… an aunt, an uncle, an older sibling, a mentor… 

See who is struggling around you… 

Be aware… 

Who can you spend a little time 

with just listening? 

Who has parents who aren't around? 

Who has parents who are checked out? 

Or maybe who has parents that are 

doing all the right things 

and yet their child is still struggling? 

Maybe with depression? 

Bad grades? 

Few friends? 

Low esteem? 

Who can you reach out to today

 and say... 

"I'm here… I will listen. I'm here for you… my door is always open." 

Take the time. 

It's worth it. 

It will make a difference. 

Don't let your child be the one 

who says to someone else:

 "Because I have no one." 

© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2014 

To My Readers:

Thank you for reading, 

commenting and sharing! 

Related Posts: 

Surviving The Fast Lane: By The Grace Of God

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2013/08/surviving-fast-lane-by-grace-of-god.html

When All You Have Is A Prayer

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2012/12/when-all-you-have-is-prayer.html

Life: Everyday We Have A Choice To Shape It 

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2013/11/life-everyday-we-have-choice-to-shape-it.html

Evil: Blatant Versus The Deceptive

Those that deny the past are
 destined to repeat it… 
to stay stuck on that page, 
within that dark chapter… 
and yet those who remember it vividly, 
who vow to never live it again… 
unfortunately also live with the painful
 memories each and every day of their lives
 as their awareness is heightened like 
that of an animal being 
potentially preyed upon… 
as they are determined to not let history repeat itself. 

For the past twenty years like a numb soilder I've traveled from one chapter to the next… stumbling into the following story wearing fresh wounds inflicted from the past battle I'd just fought into the next…  looking back now I see those that have held common themes in my past.

I see triumph and strength by God. 

In life people cross our path and sometimes by the words they speak... their actions, how we quietly observe them in their treatment of not just us but others… we know without a doubt whether they are to be trusted. We know we cannot pull them into our inner circle of trust… because the signs they wear… the warnings they demonstrate like construction workers in florescent garb… they transparently let you know you need to slow down… to watch out and proceed with caution. But what about the others? The ones who aren't so easily identified as evil. We aren't always so easily warned by the less than obvious trolls of toxicity… instead we may be blindsided… and if we haven't properly gained insight into the mask used to hide the hidden evil… we may unfortunately find ourselves back within the devil's grasp….


Sometimes the signs are obvious

that you're playing with fire. 

With the Devil. 

Other times it's not.

1994 

names have been changed or withheld in this post 

***************************

Increasingly heated words were exchanged between Duc and Bao in Vietnamese… hostility spewing from Duc's mouth as he carried on, his eyes narrowing at me with open dislike. Duc turned to face Bao, now unleashing a string of fury-laced language at him while holding a lit cigarette in one hand, gesturing at me angrily with the other. 

Duc was losing control as he would sometimes do… suddenly he grabbed me roughly by the arm and with the lit end of his cigarette went to burn the inside of my arm with the end of it. Bao pulled me away quickly from Duc's grasp… then shoving Duc backward, toppling to the ground in his jeans and shirt... likely injuring his ego more than him...  Bao screaming at him infuriatingly in rapid Vietnamese… he was the angriest I'd ever witnessed him… as usually it was Bao attempting to placate Duc and keep him "happy" so to speak… to keep the tornado within him under control… but not this time. Bao had finally had enough… his allegiance was to me before Duc…. it had always been clear I wasn't safe left alone in Duc's presence… and Bao had never risked leaving me alone with him for good reason. Duc quickly regained his balance and glared darkly at us… standing there together, Bao's arm protectively around me, I stood in black jeans and a gray top watching Duc with trepidation… I could sense the weight of Bao's gun in the pocket of his leather jacket and it was a comfort in the presence of Duc. It was then like a light switch, Duc switched over to a maniacal laugh that reverberated through the air as he slowly walked away…  leaving Bao and I breathless and shaking… him comforting me in a low tone and expressing thankfully I was alright. 


Sometimes it's so obvious were in deep. 

Sometimes it's so obvious were playing with fire. 

Sometimes it's so obvious were associating with the devil. 

We can't deny it. 

We can't dress it up pretty and make it something it's not. 

We know what it is. 


But what about when we don't know? 

What about when we have no idea that the person who is holding us and vowing to protect us doesn't mean a word he's uttering? What about the man who appears to be keeping us safe but in reality is the one holding the gun? What about "Mr. Wrong" who comes clothed and packaged as "Mr. Right"? 

This evil is so much harder to detect… all the little nuances, all the signs, all the warning flags are harder to perceive for what they truly are. Some people are so good at being covertly evil it's like they have two personalities in one… they are scriptwriters, they are movie makers, play producers… and you are their current leading lady…. you, so as luck would have it… are the chosen one for the part… because you are the opposite of evil… 

He knows you donate to the animal shelter, he hears you coo over a newborn babies laugh... he observes your kindness to strangers, watches how you handle bitter loss… he laughs silently within to himself as you dutifully use a blinker to switch lanes with careful ease… all the while he's watching you… grooming you… and he mirrors what you do… showing care, to make himself the perfect partner, your potential soul mate… your one and only… because by doing what you do… following your example of empathy… he gains your admiration, your respect. He listens carefully to you speak of your past… he nods and tells you everything you want to hear… like taking a test... he masterfully answers all the questions with ease and responds appropriately… he listens and as he does he brushes your hair back from your cheek, wipes your tear from your eye and whispers in your ear with his warm breath and seemingly heartfelt reverberation… "I won't ever ever hurt you… I'll always be here for you." Just like that… he has it… he has your trust. You smile gratefully and nod and he knows he's in like flint… he has you, he's captured your heart and you're at his mercy. You erroneously believe you're both in the trenches of life together now… you naively believe you'll fight the battles together… as a team of two… united in love… but you're wrong. One day you will come to see this for what it is… a trick and you're the punchline… one day you'll realize you're in the trench alone… and he's above you… you reach out to him for help and he kicks dirt on your face… he sneeringly laughs at you and says "Gotcha"… and you're left wondering why, why, why… 


It has nothing to do with you and yet it has everything to do with you. 

He will do this with every woman he is with from here out. 


The sociopath has an entire arsenal of evil in his back pocket… some are his strategies that he will use to wield against you… like a game of chess he has the keen ability to plan ahead, to know what ten moves to make next… and some are the people he aligns himself with… people whom he knows will aid in his agenda of manipulation toward you. 


10 Warning Flags Of A Sociopath: 

1. Charming, large sexual appetite/addiction, fetishes, risk takers. 
2. They don't feel any empathy, love, guilt or remorse. 
3. Pathological liars, they lie about anything & everything. 
4. They are never wrong, they don't feel regret, or look back, they lack self awareness. 
5. Has the innate ability to triangulate people and cause division. 
6. Lacks rationale, cannot reason with them, as it merely annoys them. 
7. Ultimate goal is to con, destroy and "win" at any cost. 
8. Avoid answering direct questions, they excel at twisting, spinning and deflecting. 
9. Stonewalling, gas-lighting… ability to make you question reality. 
10. Watch how they react when confronted with their lies… if presented with hard factual evidence of their deceit they will instead attack the person confronting them versus owning up to their behavior. 



The People They Align Themselves With: 

The Apath: Sociopaths have an uncanny knack for knowing who will support them in their agenda of conning and destroying others. They carefully choose who to align themselves with… Apath's are people who also have a dislike for the sociopath's target… reasons of their own… perhaps out of jealousy… they are willing participants to the sociopaths plan… they happily choose to be blind and not see the sociopath for who he or she truly is. The apathy is at heart a very fearful person… they are not capable of standing up for what is good and true… they cannot stand up to the sociopaths evil… so they cower and acquiensce to their power. The last thing they want is for the sociopath to turn on them… because they have seen what they are capable of… and in some sense they are looking out for themselves… they will do what is needed to have the sociopath in their corner and get what they need off them for their own benefit in the process. 



Sometimes… looking back in life we see the obvious. 

We see the obvious evil taking a lit cigarette to our bare innocent arm… sneering at us with dark eyes and laughing as we squirm away… 

And then sometimes evil whispers in our ear and says with warm promises "I'll never ever hurt you… you're safe with me." 

Only then later…

You realize he was just as evil… maybe more so… 

because he led you 

to believe he something 

he never ever was…. 

Good. 


© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2014 

To My Readers: 

Thank you for reading, 

commenting and sharing! 

Related Posts: 

The 3 Stages The Sociopath Puts You Through 

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-3-stages-sociopath-puts-you-through.html

Free From The Narc: Are You Co-Dependent? 

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2014/02/free-from-narcissist-are-you-co.html

When He Tries To Change You! And 5 Tips To Not Change Him

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2014/02/when-he-tries-to-change-you-and-5-tips.html

From Gangs To God

1994 

names have been changed or omitted in this post  

******************

“Come, we go.” Bao told me and slid out, jogging around the back of the Supra in his woven sandals to my door opening it for me. Like a gentleman, he took my hand and helped me out. I handed him his leather jacket as he was only wearing frayed jeans and a white v-neck undershirt… the weather had shifted again and clouds loomed overhead threatening rain and he shrugged into his jacket. We walked hand in hand down the sidewalk. Up ahead I saw a large group gathered. My vision immediately picked out it was Tu and his three friends waiting in the distance. I must have instinctively tightened my grip on Bao’s hand because he stopped in his tracks momentarily and half turned to me.

“It okay. Mai told me. I took care of them.” He told me under his breath.

As we neared the crowd I saw Tu and his three guys, one of Bao's close associates and a taller, new male I didn't recognize standing in the background but didn’t pay him much attention. I didn't know yet this is whom Bao had arranged for me to live with as staying with him was no longer possible and for the first time Bao's history of excellent judgement in looking out for me would be coming to an end… as this new man would be someone he seriously misjudged in character and if he had known otherwise never would have agreed to me going with. 

Focusing my attention on Tu and his guys… 

 it was clear my night of hell on the burgundy couch was 

now embellished on their faces. 

Bao had certainly taken care of them as he'd said...

They stood there in a row like a line up of battered guilt, heads hung in shame, completely silent with black eyes, bruises and open cuts on their faces resembling paper cuts of pain. They looked disheveled like they had been through hell themselves and I viewed them with disgust. They all four looked solemnly down at the concrete sidewalk under their shoes with silence. I was grateful to Bao that he had taken matters into his own hands and once again appreciated his care for me. Not once did the four guys make a peep. I stood quietly and waited to see what the next move was by Bao. 

*************

Throughout my time gone I never once went without appreciating Bao's genuine care… 

I wasn't a gang member but I lived with them having left home at seventeen
 however fleeting due to an abusive childhood environment…

 I knew that the world Bao was in was not a picture of roses, the things he did were far from honest or good and yet he always treated me like a valued person… never expecting anything and nothing ever transpiring between us but friendship. In a world where he was embroiled in sin he still was a pillar of good toward me, he looked out for me and protected me. Without a doubt there was beauty and good there... hence undeniably troubling that today so many teens succumb to the world of crime, gangs and a questionable future when they can be so much more. Young men (and women) today are continually exposed to the harsh realities of being pulled in two directions... one being how to be a man (or woman) and alternately, the societal pressures to give in... becoming gang members. They indeed face an uphill battle as they ward off peer pressure, family ties to gangs, the real need for protection, an economic need due to poverty or often simply a need to identify with something... a deep rooted need to belong that they've sadly never felt in their life. 

Identity in God... 

When these youth find themselves struggling to overcome they may find roadblocks and restrictions like living in a country ruled by an iron clad fist... there is always someone ready to dictate that they cannot pursue God... that they must conform to their ways and any opposition will be met with suppression and persecution. Yet the best thing for a struggling youth is to look at the things they are following... what are they pursuing? People? Or a higher power? As humans were all guilty of pursuing the wrong things at times but when we re-evaluate and see the value in pursuing God above all else then we know there is no greater victory. 

It's truly saddening when our youth become lost and even though many people may not be able to relate to the above paragraphs as they are on the extreme end, nearly everyone can relate to at some point having to make a choice… having to choose… between the company you keep… or following Christ.

It's at the end of chapter 15 

in Corinthians that we are instructed: 

"… stand firm. Let nothing move you." 

We can all re-evaluate our life at times… 

Who and what are we following? Are we following the latest trend? What has become our idol… much like a slithering snake which sneaks up on us before we even realize until after the fact? Whom are we taking after? Are we worshipping celebrities? It's fine to admire someone for their talent, achievements and character but we must guard against letting it become more than that and instead something obsessive. 

We are all on a path in life... on a path with others... are we on the right one? Are we on a path with people who are also followers of the Lord? Are we sharing the word of God? Are our footsteps in sync with Christ's? At one time in my life what I was pursuing was so far from Him... I was on a walk of self sufficiency and pride... of less proverbs 31 but more flesh baring and brash… back then the young man who came in my office each week to water plants tried many times to talk to me about God but I brushed him off. If someone told me back then nearly twenty years later I'd be writing about how good God is and sharing my story I would have thought they'd fallen and hit their head…  I was the one who believed the young man trying to share God's word with me was too radical, too extreme... "one of those" people...  obstinately thinking I didn't need what he was sharing with me... 

And yet I did. 

That's why I'm writing this today... because all the bad, all the past, all the old can be used... for good, for a change of hearts, a renewal of minds bringing glory to God, he loves us so much… and that the path were on doesn't have to mean a dead end... 

but instead we can choose a new path…

one that brings life.

© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2014 

It's never to late to start new, 

to say "this is not how my story will end" 

and choose another path, a better path in life 

To My Readers: 

Thank you for reading, 

commenting & sharing! 

Related Posts: 

Surviving the Fast Lane: By The Grace Of God: 

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2013/08/surviving-fast-lane-by-grace-of-god.html

When All You Have Is A Prayer: 

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2012/12/when-all-you-have-is-prayer.html

Reality Check On A Mattress: 

http://gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com/2012/12/reality-check-on-mattress.html

Our Clothes Always Mean No To Rape

As women we slowly glide from our youth to more invested years of wisdom and we realize all the more the importance of our unfading internal beauty over whatever we choose to adorn ourselves in on the outside. 

We know we may each have worn things "back in the day" that give us pause, that make us think "Oh, what was I thinking?!..." yet that also can give us the perspective of: 

"I may have made some rather questionable wardrobe choices but I am not those choices. I can give grace to myself as in all things, not sweat over the too-short shorts, the past barely-there breast baring tube top, the summer I wore the too short sheer skirt.... I can move on and give that same grace to other women... to not view them with scorn, with judgment or a wrinkled nose but instead with a smile and love." 

We can be mindful and remember that the clothes a woman wears don't tell the whole story nor is she a walking advertisement in a desire for sex.

At the end of the day we know as women we are all susceptible to the grave danger of being viewed by a man out there with wrong thoughts, being viewed by a man with lecherous intentions, being viewed by a man as someone to be used, abused and discarded. As women we are all susceptible to being viewed like this on the street, in a parking lot, at a game, at a party, in a bar. And for a man with those thoughts, those intentions, a predatory-like agenda, there is a risk to us all called... 

RAPE 

As women we know it doesn't matter what we wear...  it's not an invitation for a man to rape. There may be men who are cocky and flagrantly believe that a woman's questionable clothing translates to her "asking for it" yet this couldn't be further from the truth. 

A man who rapes is not strong but weak, wishes to dominate something or someone because of his ignorantly selfish, addictive, narcissistic flesh, a man who is perverse and not walking in light but instead walking in darkness and taking what is not his. 

As women our clothes aren't an invitation for our bodies to be taken, to be used, to be abused, nor to be cat called at, to be intimidated, to be provoked, to be seen as less than. 

We shouldn't have to wear t-shirts that say "NO". Unfortunately, society has had a history of placing blame on the woman for being "too this", "too that", "too drunk", "too loose" and "allowing" it to occur... which couldn't be further from what occurs. In this world we as women need more men to be vocal against rape. The sole responsibility to voice concern should not rest on women's shoulders. We need men's support, their spreading of awareness... we need them to be the one guy who when others are cat calling a woman on the sidewalk or grabbing a woman's arm... to say "Hey! Cut it out! Leave her alone!" 

We need more men like that. 

As women we can all lift each other up, to inspire, to comfort and to take a stand together... 

There is no 

"dressing up RAPE" 

to be acceptable...

 It's wrong no matter what she wore.  

© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2013

                  To My Readers: 

             Thank you for reading, 

           commenting and sharing! 

Surviving The Fast Lane: By The Grace Of God

2008 

names have been omitted 

***********

I sat on the flowered love seat, the sunlight streaming in the large picture window to my left almost blinding me. My therapist rose from her seat in the cozy taupe arm chair with it's nubby upholstery and adjusted the mini blinds to tilt so the light was dimmed. Taking her seat again, she picked up her pen and pad, nodding at me,  

"Go ahead..." she prompted.

“Night Traffic. Motion Blur” by Feelart via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  1994 

     some names have been changed 

or omitted in this post 

*******************************

Later that day, after skipping home economics class, when Bao pulled up in front of the high school to drop me off, I saw my mother. There she was... her petite stride in brown slacks and blonde hair walking out the front doors of the high school, purposefully looking up and down the sidewalk, the warm midday sun beaming off the concrete. 

She was looking for me.

I panicked, ducked my head and in a hushed tone told Bao, 

"Just keep going.”

I remember furtively looking back at her through the rear window of the car. She looked so tiny in stature suddenly. Much smaller than I’d ever seen her and then eventually she was a dot in the distance as we sped off, Bao clutching the stick as he drove. Tears sprang to my eyes and I blinked them away. I felt an intense sudden sadness for her. But I tried to squash it down. Panic began rising in my throat and my stomach was forming knots as we continued. 

What was I going to do? 

Where would I go? 

I wailed inside not knowing the answers. 

She knew I wasn’t at school and I knew she would wait till three o’clock for me to show up when school was dismissed in a few hours. Then she would realize I wouldn’t be coming home that evening.

Reality slowly began setting in as Bao drove further away. The only thought that kept me going forward and realizing going back wasn’t an option was the reality of what was waiting for me back home. If I went back I would never hear the end of it. I would be under such strict surveillance it would be all the more suffocating than it already was. Feeling as though home already resembled a prison with zero decision making, voice of self expression or nurturing, then how much worse could it become? 

I knew it could become much worse than I could ever imagine. 

My father felt most secure when he believed his environment was controlled... solely by him. Lack of control brought fear and more control. I had now thrown a loop into the system and this would offset not only his false security...  but uncontrollable fury. Steeling myself for whatever I would face alternatively couldn't be worse than the restrictive environment I felt I had been living in for years. I kept telling myself that. It couldn’t.

We now made our way to one particularly run down section of town on the west side. No one with half a brain went there during the day much less at night as it was notoriously known as one of the worst and highest crime sections of the city. It was the nineties, the height of gang activity and their territorial wars... but unlike most gangs who were hung up on turf, the vietnamese gangs were about making money... business, chop shops, prostitution, drugs, etc.

The afternoon sky had turned to a charcoal dusk as the tiny gray customized Toyota MR2 weaved it’s way through the wide streets. It felt surreal, as it was like being on a movie set... a movie set of hell. But this was real life. I had never witnessed anything like it in my life. There were rough men in baggy pants and wife beater shirts straggled along the edges of the overgrown broken curbs reaching out their splayed hands... some begging for help, others cursing obscenities and glaring darkly at us as we moved at a snails pace so as not to hit any of them. Some held brown paper bags that I knew held bottles of booze and others held out needles or baggies of powdery substances that I knew to be drugs they were soliciting. Clearly some of them were so high on drugs or incapacitated by alcohol they had no idea what they were doing and would stumble across the road in front of the car forcing us to stop. Desperate for money, some of them would gather in groups around the vehicle as it slowed, waving bags of drugs at the window. I knew myself well enough to know drugs were never anything I was interested in and throughout all my time gone never once was I tempted to dabble in them which to this day I'm thankful for. 

                       *******************

"It's amazing that you were able to survive something like this..." She exclaimed, taking a quick sip of freshly brewed coffee from a hand-painted mug with pale blue stripes circling it. "I mean, most people wouldn't have." She added, her cinnamon brown hued eyes sparkling warmly at me. 

"It's been a strange journey..." I admitted looking down at my clasped hands sitting in my lap. "It's been an odd combination of something out of Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift meets a Lifetime movie..." I looked up and smiled wanly at her, pausing in thought... 

"But I know God was who led me through. It was He who looked out for me, gave me the strength and power to keep going. It's only because of His grace I'm alive. At one time I would have taken credit or at least partial for surviving it. But I know now I can do nothing without God. I'm incredibly thankful to be here and it may seem cliche to say it, but not a day goes by that I don't know how very blessed I am in that. I would hope one day my story would inspire others to realize that no matter how dark life may seem it can get better." 

What has God led you through? 

How many triumphs in life can you thank Him for? 

How blessed are we to have Him! 

© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2013 

        To My Readers: 

    Thank you for reading,

 commenting & sharing!