It’s a bit of a wonder how a day can change a life.
When a choice made can change the path that is set out before.
It's a heart-breaking tragedy when manipulation and abuse taint all that has been and work their way into the
present.
She won’t eat taco de asada - that’s what her daddy sold.
His taco cart was his livelihood and she’d be right there by his side.
She was there when her daddy was killed on a steep hill selling out from his taco cart, but by whom, she still doesn’t know.
Her mama couldn’t take care of her; she was barely able to take care of herself.
She finds herself living in home after home, surrounded by girls who have no one able to pay the cost for caring.
Six homes later she walks through the doors of El Refugio and she finds herself a refuge.
She throws out screams, and cries, and fits.
And in return receives patience, and hope, and faith, and love.
It's been said that Love covers a multitude of sins, and I've seen it over and over again.
You see, when you arrive at The Refuge, you enter a space of safety and healing - a place of rest.
You may bring all your past through the front iron gate, but once inside, transformation begins.
And two years later, she earns a scholarship for English school, she teaches age-old Truths to dozens of children,
And she works hard and loves even harder.
She is amazing, and so much fun, and incredibly smart, and sweet with her heart, and generous with her time.
But the past is still there, and a choice was made, and a mistake happened,
And all the beauty of the present and the future disintegrated in seemingly a moment.
And we said goodbye and we cried, and cried, and cried.
And now all we can do is pray, as my mama often says.
We pray in the morning when she is starting a new day,
And we pray in the evening when she is lying still in her new bed.
And we pray during the day-to-day when thoughts surround her,
We pray.
