Annelise Lords — Footprints on Her Heart
“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” Eleanor Roosevelt.
There are many footprints left on our lives by mean and evil people, but these footprints tell our stories. This one that Annelise wrote took me back to a point in time, when a huge and monstrous one was left on my heart almost wiping me out of existence.
“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick when their wrath was kindled against us” (Psalms 124:2–3).
This story reminds me of my own mother growing up. Isabelle Malloy thanked her mother for life and the experiences she encountered by her. She didn’t know her mother yet, but she is grateful for the life she gave her. Isabella experienced some horrible trauma in her life yet she found a place in her heart to be thankful to her mother. Homelessness, rape, molestation, hunger, no child should experience these atrocities when mothers are entrusted with these children.
“Glow wherever you go and let the light of God reflect in the world around you. You carry the light of God and wherever you pass, darkness must flee.”
My heart goes out to Isabella as I too have experienced many of what this young lady met on her life’s journey. It brought me back to my own mother whom I believe deliberately planned these things to happen to me. Living with her was a nightmare. Beatings for no reason, locking us out of the house at night, my siblings and I slept in the neighbors’ bathroom. She would leave us for very long hours without thinking she was putting us in harm’s way. Did she care? I often wondered.
What mother would do such cruelty to the children she births? Animals are not so cruel to their young.
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15).
Was I grateful for the life she gave me? Not at the moment. It took years of a teacher’s wise counsel and the scriptures to help me see that these traumas were on my path. They were to help me come into my destiny. The scripture reminded me that these tests were for my good and had a purpose. God does not allow things to happen without a reason.
They were what strengthened my faith muscles, and crying out to God brought me closer to Him. They helped to build my character, and through perseverance taught me compassion and forgiveness. I realized my mother was miserable, unhappy, and frustrated. She found happiness in torturing us because she was hurt. They say hurt people hurt others, then this is true of my mother and Isabella’s mother.
Not only was my mother the only person to hurt and walk on my heart leaving big footprints there mingled with pain. These included so-called friends, families, sisters, ex-husbands, and even present husbands. However, amid the pain, Purpose is still strong and alive. Purpose, cannot be killed.
I totally agree with Annelise Lords, that the good and the bad helped in making us who we are. We can’t only love those who are good to us, but we have to also love those who cause pain and hurt. These footprints are there to remind us of our purpose, who we are, and who we are. We were created with purpose and no trauma, or circumstances that come into our lives can kill purpose.
This reminds me too of the huge footprints Joseph’s brother left in his young life. They too tried to kill him but how could they kill him? He was born with a Purpose like Isabella Malloy and the many Isabella out there who were born with a Purpose, you cannot be killed.
Did I want to forgive my mother? No. But the forgiveness was not for her.
The moral I got from this story, is what the devil meant for bad and evil in our lives, God meant it for good, to strengthen our faith muscles and bring purpose alive.
Thank you for reading my story, hoping it speaks to your heart. Enjoy these stories from other talented writers.
Published and enjoyed by Annelise Lords
