All Alone

She sits in her room all alone
And wonders what she should do.
She's afraid to pick up the phone,
Others think what she says isn't true.

She prays for someone to rescue her,
But no one comes to her aid.
Her soul is battered, her body hurts,
And people don't understand why she's afraid.

She tries to never be alone with him,
Not difficult during the day.
But at night, when mom's gone again,
He's free to have his way.

She finds release in her diary,
It doesn't call her a liar.
She records it all, the abuse and the dreams,
And prays the dreams don't expire.

Then mom got sick, wound up in the hospital,
And someone heard and believed.
Made some noise, made some calls,
Convinced them it wasn't a made up story.

He spent only a few days in jail.
She was pressured to drop the charges "to save the family".
She was confused and so scared she would fail,
At what all the different ones wanted her to do.

She was a young girl, not very strong.
She was subjected to scorn and ridicule.
When the rumors started, she was the one in the wrong.
But she was stronger than she knew.

She ignored the gossipmongers.
She did her work and graduated from school,
And searched for the things for which she hungered.
She got married, more than once.

She had children of her own.
She didn't really know how to trust.
She struggled to provide a safe and secure home.
Then one day he was found dead,
And she worried, for her children had not been told.

Telling them had filled her with dread
Because she was afraid their hearts would turn cold,
That they would lose respect for her
When they found out the ugliness of her past.

Would they understand the fear and the hurt?
"Is that why we hardly saw him?" they asked.
She went through lots of therapy
And learned to forgive him.
Then she learned to forgive herself so she could be free.

Now her life is moving forward again.
She searched many places before she found Jesus.
She's learning how to have good relationships.
She found peace, joy, happiness,
And hope so bright that helps her to never quit.