Perspectives
on the Landscape of Life
By
DJ Note
A
Pure Heart: A Gift of Love (Part 2)
It
was Christmas time. A benevolent church
furnished this struggling dysfunctional family with a gift basket. It contained
much needed food, a couple of small gifts for their son, and a Bible, which was
subsequently tossed into a closet. Later, when our “hostage” was caught reading
it her manipulative boyfriend taunted, “So who do you love more, God or me?”
and threw the Bible in a dumpster.
Secretly,
she retrieved the spaghetti-laden book from the trash, cleaned it, and hid it
in a different spot every day. “I discovered I could hide and read in the
closet, stuffing a towel under the door so the light couldn’t be seen. When he’d pass out, I’d head for the
closet…and God. That’s when I found Matthew 5:6. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.”
“Slowly, God’s Word began to
manifest itself in me and I felt an unfamiliar compassion building for my
boyfriend. I’d recall his kindness when we first met. Now he was killing
himself, but I couldn’t let him die. He was a still person. I felt like God was
telling me to care for him even though he was holding me hostage.
“Many
times I saved him during his seizures simply by getting him to a hospital. I’ve learned God often uses ways we don’t
always understand.”
As
she grasped the reality of salvation through Christ, she knew she had to escape
the life she was living. “I took a chance and wrote an S.O.S. letter to my
brother back East,” she continued, “but my boyfriend found it. ‘So you think
your brother’s gonna help you?’ he screamed at me.”
As
she was drug down the hall to the bedroom, their son hid himself in a closet
away from the fury of his father. “He accused me of not caring about our son
even as he beat me.”
With
the letter in one hand and a butcher knife in the other, the boyfriend
threatened, “Depending on what’s in that letter will determine whether you’re
gonna live or die today.”
Her
narrow escape was nothing short of miraculous. With ferocity of faith, she
snatched the letter and escaped to the neighbors who contacted Police. She was
jailed along with her boyfriend. Their son was placed in foster care.
Within
twelve hours, Truth prevailed and this frail, feisty woman was released.
“That’s when I got clean,” she said. “My son and I went to live with a
girlfriend. I immersed myself in God’s Word, attended church two or three times
a week, and joined a women’s Bible study.
Strange
as it seems, she missed her boyfriend. “I longed for his acceptance, which was
crazy because he did anything but accept me. But I wanted to be held, to be
needed.”
Sadly,
she returned to her abuser. But God’s Word had taken root. She was drug-free,
and this time she wouldn’t stay.
A
friend contacted her mother relating her story. “I was shocked when my mom
wanted me home,” she said. “With only what we could carry, my son and I snuck
away while my boyfriend slept. A friend waited for us in a car around the
corner.” Later, an elder from the church she attended placed a call advising
the boyfriend not to look for her. Even now, she’s leery he’ll find her again.
TO
BE CONTINUED…
Deborah J. Note writes from
Eagle Point, Oregon.