#30in30 '14, Day 18: She Was Eighteen When It Happened

She was eighteen when it happened.
And she never told a soul.
She was afraid it was the type of thing that would
haunt her until she grew old.
In one fell swoop, all of her dreams and desires
changed in a matter of minutes.
She couldn't take it back once it had been put out there.
She wondered at the time if her life was finished.

He cornered her.
And took away the thing she had been saving for someone else.
Took away the thing she was told defined her.
Ripped away her innocence and penetrated her self-wealth.
She fought. Hard as she possibly could, she fought
but he just wouldn't let her go
he had his way with her and when he was done,
she was in shock. She couldn't speak and the tears continued to flow.

Out of fear and out of realization,
she never told anyone who it was.
She knew him. And he knew her.
But she hadn't expected this, to be something he was capable of.
And so she carried that with her -
the pain, the anguish, and what he'd left behind.
And she was terrified, so terrified.
She almost lost her mind.

She asked her Savior why,
when she'd done nothing but her best to follow Him at all times.
What had she done to deserve this?
Was she guilty of some unknown or forgotten crime?
He had said He would protect her
if she gave Him her heart
then where was He that night
when her whole world and womb were torn apart?

She carried it.
And it grew. And she grew with it. And then it came to life.
And when she held the baby in her arms,
she teared up at the sight.
How could something so beautiful come about
from such an ugly happenstance?
How could something so precious have emerged?
Had this been part of God's plan?

The baby grew into a girl.
Two years old now, she favors her mother.
And the girl who bore the child, is a woman now
She's tried to move on, and leave the past unbothered
Sometimes it still comes back to haunt her,
when she thinks about her future
and sometimes she wonders if she's damaged goods,
if any future man will ever want her
But God told her that He's got her
and the proof lies in her arms -
the baby girl that created joy where darkness had been before
the victory that emerged amidst the evil formed against her,
and her Savior-given good luck charm.