I once knew a girl who is beautiful.
No in fact she is gorgeous. She has never failed to give me a sweet smile.
However, behind those sparkling eyes, lies bitterness that no one knew.
Later on, I learnt that she had an abusive live in boyfriend. He would beat her and verbally abused her. It got worse when she caught him cheating on her. She forgave him.
She was fully conscious that this daily torture was slowly killing her and she felt that she did not have a life worth living. The flashback of his boyfriend cheating on her hurt her every hour of the day. To make matter worse, her boyfriend often beat her. She hoped that she would be able to leave him, but she couldn't make that move. She even had sourced for options and made plans on how to leave him but she just couldn't do it. That master plan had stayed in her cupboard for more than a year but she was unable to find the courage to execute it. Even her family kept persuading her to leave her boyfriend and start all over.
Initially, I was really puzzled knowing her situation. Why didn't she just do it? She wanted out, and had a plan. I thought she was just being silly and craved for self pity.
It was really difficult for me to understand what she was feeling and why she couldn't take any action to solve the problem. I was ready to let go of her trouble and to pretend that I didn't know her problems. Somehow, my heart twitched and ached to lend a helping hand. So I tried speaking to a counselor about this.
Apparently, some people are trapped in the cycle of torture that they had unconsciously accepted it as routine and part of life. The longer they are in this abuse, the more difficult it is for them to get out of it.
In such situation, only she can help herself. I gave her a lot of encouragement and shared some real life stories to inspire her. That was the least I could do.
She started to picture her future with and without the abuse. Slowly, she took mini steps and hold on to the tiny hope that she had in her heart. Her plan started to look more and more real. With all the effort put into her plan she got an offer to work in foreign land, which was a perfect opportunity for her to start a new life. Even then, it was very difficult for her to make the final decision. It took about a month of contemplating and reflecting on her future. Eventually, she gathered all her courage and did it.
I thanked God for giving her that courage at that split moment that changed her life. She is travelling around the world and living a life to the fullest. A life that most women would only be able to dream about.
Life is worth living if we make it so:
Start with a little bit of HOPE,
Work the plan with a little step at a time,
Make a significant change with a little more courage,
To live a life worth living.
