A Much Needed Lift of the Spirit

I went out for coffee yesterday, a Saturday, with my FMP Co-founder and dear friend. It wasn’t all business, of course, but in the midst of catching each other up on our personal lives, the recent Fourth of July holiday celebrations came up. My family had hosted a party up at the lake, and lots of our lake friends came. They all know about Abby, and everyone had been careful to not ask any questions. Bill did all the cooking for the party, so I was busy assisting him in the kitchen most of the day. At the end of it, when everyone had gone home, I had time to be sad, and angry, and bitter that Abby had missed it all, another event enriched by family and friends she had grown up during summers with her grandmother and cousin on the lake.

In the midst of telling my friend about this, she grabbed my hands and told me something incredible.

We have helped two people that she personally knows. She went on to tell me that a young woman not much older than Abby recognized that she could be in a dangerous relationship, the trajectory of which she thought long and hard about after studying our website. He was much older than she, and the red flags that he was a narcissist and out to control her were undeniable. He was pushing her to get married after only six months together.

She ended the relationship!

As expected, he did not make it easy for her to do so, but with a strong support network of family and friends, she did it.

I felt like the Grinch when he realized the true meaning of Christmas.

My heart grew three sizes that day. I nearly burst into tears as I reminded my friend what I said to her when we started this nonprofit a year ago – If I help one person like Abby I will have succeeded in my mission. We helped two. I eventually calmed down to hear about the second woman’s story, and all the while I felt like some of the darkness that had been shrouding me was lifting. The bitterness poisoning me drained away, at least temporarily.

When we hugged goodbye I turned to watch the sun setting over the river running nearby. I had so much warm light inside of me I willed it to spill out and rain down on Abby. Maybe she would be able to feel my love through this light if I could push it out to her. And while I’m shedding tears while writing this blog post, I am actually feeling something I haven’t felt in three years...

Hope.