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The Perfect Parent
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Introduction
- Armando Sanchez
The story you are about to read was inspired by a true story.
I share it with you because it is my goal to love like the Perfect
Parent. Enjoy!
It's a beautiful
Sunday morning. The window is wide open, and a warm gentle breeze
fills the kitchen with the promises and fragrance of a new day.
Marie closes her eyes as she savors the moment that feels so
surreal. The morning rays, which wash over her schoolbooks upon
the kitchen table, are interrupted by the shadows of blue jays
that are nesting near her window. Marie couldn't help but feel
a sense of well being overcome her as she slips into her daydream
of becoming a counselor and helping people live better lives.
Then suddenly,
she hears a loud bang and a screaming voice saying, "I
knew you were lying to me! You didn't quit school like I told
you to! Your job is to clean this house and take care of our
kid!" "But honey," replied Marie, "All my
life I wanted to become a counselor. You knew that! I told you
when I became pregnant, that I would return to school when Ester
started first grade." "Forget about it, you are stupid,
you can't even help yourself much less someone else. You have
enough work to do around here," shouted her husband.
As Marie began
to speak, she once again feels her husband's fury upon her face.
Knowing what is to follow she turns and races down the hallway
knocking the telephone table over as her husband Frank grabs
her shoulder. Marie manages to roll off the wall and gets lose
to run further down the hall. Franks leaps at her narrowly missing
her, as he screams obscenities. She bangs against the wall in
an attempt to get away, knocking picture frames to the floor.
She bounces back on her feet and runs up the stairs as she hears
her husband's voice close behind her. As she reaches the top
of the stairs Frank grabs her foot throwing her off balance.
She falls to the floor hitting her head on the edge of an open
door. Marie rolls on her back and frantically kicks Frank to
keep him at bay. He falls backward down the stairs, banging
off the wall and rails, finally hitting his head on the bottom
floor. After a moment or two, Frank gets back on his feet and
like a crazed man leaps up the stairs again.
Marie buys herself
enough time to wipe the blood from her eyes, gets up and staggers
down the hallway. This time she manages to reach her daughter's
bedroom and lock the door behind her, just as Frank rams in
to it. Her daughter Ester runs into her mother's arms, crying
and screaming historically, they both crawl to the corner. Suddenly
the banging stops and all that could be heard are the loud frozen
thoughts of a woman and child lost in fear, their sobs could
be heard echoing in the voids of life.
Drained from
the events Marie feels weak. As she falls asleep she feels a
shift within her. She realizes the emotional pain she is in
is greater then the fear she has for her husband. Not even 15
years of abuse and humiliation could suppress her desire to
live; she began to feel free.
In that moment
Marie makes up her mind that she has to leave in order to live.
There is a problem, however. She has no money, family, nor a
place to stay. How is she going to get to school? How will she
be able to take care of herself and her daughter? She doesn't
know the answers, but that does not matter, she just knows she
has to go. In her last conscious breath she says, "I do
not believe you put me on this earth to suffer! I am going to
step out in faith and I will expect for you to be there."
Marie drifts off to sleep.
Hour's later
Marie wakes up and put her child in her bed. She feels exhilarated
from her decision to leave. Many times in the past she thought
about leaving but this time it was different she knew from within
herself she was leaving. She gets on her knees and asks God
for help again, and to her surprise the response comes almost
like a voice spoken in her head. Marie jumps for joy since she
knows with God's help she would be able to reach her dreams.
Marie is not sure how, but all that matters is that she just
knows.
Then the still voice in her head said, "Just trust me and
hold firm, I will not forsake you." She cries with joy,
her heart never felt so full. She knows the end to her suffering
is at hand. Feeling alive she runs to the bedroom door to unlock
it. She feels so sure and empowered. She thinks she could stop
Frank in his track if he tries to hit her again.
But as she opens
the door her high reaches a new low. Her heart falls to the
floor where Frank has been laying all along. Marie had never
seen anyone dead before but somehow she knew Frank was. Confusion
disorients her, as she tries to get around the body and reach
the phone. At that moment she hears the doorbell ring. Bewildered,
she rushes and opens the door to find two members of her church
standing there. From the dry blood and frighten look on her
face they ask almost shouting, "What happened?" Marie
tried desperately to catch her breath as one of the church members
goes for the phone and sees splattered blood at the bottom of
the stairs.
Hello, 911, we
have an emergency, says the church member. The other asked,
"Where is your child and husband?" Marie, almost in
a daze, chants, "But you promised me. What happened?"
The police came
and found that Frank's death at the bedroom door was a result
from the injury he received from falling down the stairs after
being kicked by Marie. The police took temporary custody of
Ester and charged Marie with the murder of her husband. At the
police station her chant of despair continues as she drifted
deeper into a deeper daze. "You told me to trust you. How can
you do this to me? I love you!" She desperately listened
for that still voice. She calls out for it to be heard. Mentally
she screams, "YOU PROMISED NOT TO FORSAKE ME! WHERE ARE
YOU WHEN I NEED YOU THE MOST? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?
I ONLY WANTED TO HELP PEOPLE. I JUST WANTED TO BE HAPPY WITH
YOU!" Exhausted from her feelings of hopelessness and betrayal
Marie just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again.
Fourteen months
have passed since she was charged with murder and her picture
was still in the news, she was dubbed, "The Stairway Killer".
In fact her case was drawing so much attention it was televised
nation wide. Her name became a household word.
In a struggle
to maintain her sanity Marie took college courses offered by
the institution. She often thought about her daughter who was
now in temporary custody of the church members, pending on the
outcome of the trial.
The court date
arrived and Marie's attorneys advice her to accept the plea
of second degrees manslaughter with a ten-year sentence. Marie
said, "No!" The lawyer urged, "I strongly suggest
that you do, because you can't even prove he was beating you.
There are no police reports, no hospital records and not even
one compelling witness. You didn't even tell anyone he was beating
you. There is no evidence to support your defense. If you don't
accept this plea you will probably be found guilty of first
degree murder and face the death penalty, or at best a life
sentence with no possibility of parole. You will never be able
to see your daughter again.
Marie sat in
tears, and said, "I can't. A part of me says I am suppose
to be helping people." The attorney replied, "You
can help people in jail. With the degree in social work you
now have, you can still help people." Marie muttered, "I
did not mean to hurt him, I just wanted to keep him from hurting
us."
Court was called
in session and the trial of the decade lasted 3 weeks. In the
closing arguments the State alleged the reason that Marie killed
her husband was because she found some old letters of an affair
her husband had. Marie's leaned over to her attorney with fear
in her eyes and asked, "Can I still take the plea bargain?"
Her attorney replied, "Why would they want to offer it
to you now, they are winning the case. Unfortunately, I don't
think even God can help you now."
Marie's attorney
began and ended his closing argument by saying, "The State
wants you to believe that my client killed her husband because
of an affair he had years ago with a woman they can't even find.
Therefore they have not established motive. This constitutes
reasonable doubt. You must find her not guilty.
Marie could
see she was done for and couldn't help but get a sinking feeling
in her stomach. She looked over her shoulder at her growing
daughter with tear-filled eyes. For the first time in over 14
months she said a prayer. As her lips trembled she whispered
under her breath, "Please tell me again you won't forsake
me." As she turned back to the jury she noticed a card
on the table that had a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. It read,
"God never comes to early, nor does He come to late."
As this thought unraveled in her mind, time stood still. She
realized the card was the answer to her prayer.
In that moment
a woman stood up in the back of the court and shouted, "I
am the mistress the State has been looking for." The courtroom
was filled with a loud rumble as everyone turned to look at
the surprise witness. She continued, "I once hid in her
closet when she came home unexpectedly. That day, Frank become
angry and beat her in to the ground. In fact, I left him 4 years
ago after hearing what he told her. He said, "If you go
to the hospital or tell anyone anything I will hurt the baby."
The courtroom
reporters ran out to be the first to deliver the explosive events.
In an attempt to regain control the State objected and the court
over ruled the objection. The mistress was allowed to testify
on the stand. Some juror's shook their heads, others cried,
as the surprise witness went into great detail of the beating
and threats she have seen and heard.
The jurors deliberated
for one half-hour and returned with a verdict and found Marie
not guilty. Marie's daughter ran to her and flung her arms around
her, as if to say we will always be together from now on.
Marie and Ester
were escorted out of the courthouse and into a vehicle. While
riding down Route 27 Marie said, "Thank you so much, but
please don't get offended by this question. Where were you in
the last 14 months?" She listened closely for a reply that
did not come. She then picked up a magazine and on the back
cover was the poem "Footprints". Marie read the poem
and the last sentence jumped out at her as she read it out loud,
"...when you look back at your life and see just one set
of footprints in the sands, it was I then who carried you."
Marie couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with humility and love.
She held her daughter as if she was holding God.
That night as
Marie lay in bed, she hears the still voice again, it said,
"Do you have something to ask of me?" Marie said,
"I am not sure." The still voice responded, "My
beloved, I hear the question that speaks so loud in your mind.
It's keeping you up. It would serve you well to ask me."
And Marie said, "Okay, why did you let me go through all
of that just to save me later? Why?" "My beloved,
it was you who put you through that. I offered you many times
the thought to leave, but your fears kept you from listening
to me. Therefore, I took advantage of the situation you created
to help you create your deepest dreams - helping others in the
same situation.
To do this I
needed to put you in a place where the world could see you.
Where I would then announce my love for you for all to witness."
"Yes, I know what happened in court was nothing short of
a miracle," said Marie. "What happened today in court,
replied God, was simply God moving in God's time."
"Now go
and tell others what you have learned about Me. Tell them to
choose my loving thoughts over their fears. Tell them how I
will never forsake them, regardless how things may appear. Tell
them they were not put here to suffer, but to live happily and
joyfully. Tell them that I appear when I need to, and not when
they think I should. Also tell them I am prepared to wait through
eternity for every one of my children, if need be. You are in
that position now. You have the ears of millions of women. I
have chosen you as my spokesperson to speak on this issue. Go
forth and testify on My behalf; many are waiting to hear My
message in your words". "But why me?" asked Marie
bewildered. "Because I give to those according to their
hearts," replied the still voice.
Marie's heart
swelled with joy as her tears filled her pillow. She then said,
"I am so sorry for hurting Frank; I never meant to. Please
forgive me." "Frank knows that," said the still
voice, "He sees things clearly from here, he saw his ways.
Frank has even assisted me in bringing your savior to the witness
stand. And as for My forgiveness my child, I can not forgive
you, for as the Perfect Parent that I am, I can never become
angry with you, regardless of what you do . So go forth and tell
them too, they don't need My forgiveness, they only need to
forgive themselves. Tell them I judge them not, regardless of
what they do, for my love comes with no conditions".
"But what
about these husband?" asked Marie. "Fret not my beloved,
for they too have a story to tell, for which I have appointed
spokespersons as well."
"Your
mercy is great and I will do whatever you ask of me." "Then I will
ask of you only one thing." "Tell me my
Creator, for whatever that is I will do." "Good, just believe
in me," said the still voice, "like I believe in you".
There was
a long pause of silence as a sense of well being overwhelmed
Marie, just like that day in the kitchen over 15 months ago.
Then she asked, "That was you then wasn't it?" "Yes
it was," answered the still voice. Marie closed her eyes as she
laid her head on the pillow and whispered, "I love You."
"Yes I know," said the still voice, "I love you too.
Now rest we have a lot of work to do."
Quote
of the Month:
We are not punished
for our anger. We are punished by our anger.
Ancient Indian proverb
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