Significant Event
It was another afternoon after a long day
of school. I was mentally exhausted from the dreadful hours spent trying to
stay awake during day and not mention it was one of the hottest days of the
summer with temperature rising over 90 degrees. I was dying to get home to
sleep off my childhood pains from school and relax for a while. And even then,
going home wasn't the best way to relax because of the constant drama that was
stirred up from my parents marital problems. All I needed to to do was get on
the bus and be on my way.
As I, get
the bus, I find the first empty spot and begin to doze off. This way I didn't
have to experience the lengthiness of the ride home and it also helped me wind
down after a long day in a teenage prison. And before I even knew it I was
already home. I was pleased to be awakened to sight of my house a few feet from
where the bus dropped us off. I snatch up my bags, make a speedy exit, and
begin my walk home. Today I was in more of a rush than usual. Little did I
know, I was rushing into an unwelcoming surprise at home.
I see my sister come out side with a
worried look on her face and I begin thinking what now. It seemed my sister was
always stressing about the silliest things. But as she frantically waved me in,
it made questioned what was really going on. She whispers to me “dad is in
there freaking out!” And I say “about what?” And she says “he caught mom
talking to somebody!” Immediately my heart began race and my teeth clenched
bracing for the impact that I was about to face when I walked through the
doors.
When I finally walked in, I see my dad
scrambling around in old boxes and through papers. I turn to my mom and ask “is
it true?” and she nods her head yes. At that moment I didn’t feel angry or
disappointed. I just understood. I understood because my mom had been pushed to
this point in her life. For years, I remember my mother trying to mend the
wounds of our family. She constantly was forgiving my father, making every
effort to start fresh from a history of infidelity and unfaithfulness. And
though her acting as did didn’t help at all, I still understood.
From that day on, my life was never the
same. I constant was looking out for my mother. My father was very angry and
was always looking for a way to hurt my mother. Emotionally, mentally and even
physically. He became very depressed and begin using drugs. My father and I
never really had the best relationship but to see him this low really hurt. I
was put in a very weird spot where I had to look out for him yet fight him at
the same time if he tried to hurt my mother.
My life had spiraled so out of control, I
didn’t think it could get an worse. I thought my family and I had hit rock
bottom but I was completely wrong. I remember sitting down watching a
basketball game with my mother, a time which seemed like we could finally
relax. I hear my dad calling for my mom to come up into their room. Reluctantly
my mom goes up to keep him calm and rational. A few moments later after she
goes up I hear a lot of commotion going on up stairs. I bolt up stairs to my
parent’s room and hear my mom screaming. I tried opening the door only to
discover out it was locked. I immediately sprung into action and kicked open
the door. I was met with my father chasing my mother with a knife trying to do
who knows what. My mother sprinted out of the room while my father pursued. As
soon as my mother was out of the room I jumped in front of my father ready to
defend her from any harm. I didn’t even care if he had a knife. I was going to
do whatever it took to keep my mother safe. And before you knew it, my father
snapped out of it denying what had just taken place. That was truly the turning
point in my life.
It felt like the next day my mother, my
sister, and I were moving out into our new apartment. We quickly established a
new life across town trying to forget our past life. Eventually things started
to cool down and during this period I was able to evaluate myself like never
before. Around this time I had given all my problems to the only person I knew
could deal with them and that was God. He quickly became the focus of my life
and he also became the reason why I began to question so many things.
For the longest time I wondered why I
went through the things that I lived through. I couldn’t understand why my mother
and sister received so much hurt. And I as continued to learn about God, I
learned that he ALLOWED his son Jesus to be murdered and resurrected for the
sins of man so all that believed in this could receive life. Right then
everything became clear to me. I knew that though had gone through those
horrible things, I would be sharing those experiences with someone who went
through similar things and how I overcame them. I knew that MY journey in life
wasn’t about me. It was about helping others in need. Whether or not they had
been through the same experiences as me.
