INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK – YOU NEVER KNOW by Jim Lawrence
INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK
YOU NEVER KNOW
by Jim Lawrence
In this inspiring story, Jim reminds us that you never know how life might unfold.
Sometimes we ‘luck out’ serendipitously and meet someone very special. And that is exactly what happened to Jim when he had the good fortune to meet Jane. Read her inspiring story.
Jane lived in a quiet ‘over 55’ community on the Treasure Coast of Florida when Jim and she first met.
Sunset on the Florida coast
Jane’s childhood was not pretty. Her mother, a life-long alcoholic, tried unsuccessful to self-abort her fetus, and gave her up for adoption shortly after giving birth. Jane grew up in a series of abusive foster homes.
Her school experience was not much better. In the third grade, her dyslexia and undiagnosed ADD led to extreme embarrassment. Her teacher made her make a ‘dunce cap’ from yellow construction paper and write the word DUNCE on it. She was told to sit in the back of the classroom, wear her new creation and to be QUIET! This occurred on an almost weekly basis for the whole school year.
Girl in dunce cap
Later in high school one of Jane’s teachers told her not to bother studying because she was not smart enough to be college material. Jane would eventually prove this teacher and other doubters wrong.
Life improves . . . for awhile
Jane went to college and fell in love with a man named Marty. They married and had all the visible ‘trappings’ of a successful marriage and family life. Jane and Marty had three children. Their two sons were afflicted with autism, but their daughter was a radiantly beautiful woman who eventually had three children of her own. Jane was a stay at home Mom. She cared for her children and their home while Marty provided enough money for everything they needed. But eventually the stresses of family life began to overwhelm Marty and he began to drink heavily. Gradually his emotional and verbal abuse escalated to the physical.
Jane’s inspiring story
Jane had to contend with this abuse, and at the same time, attempt to obtain mental health services for her two sons. Although at first stymied by the utter lack of services for autistic children in her state, she eventually rose to the occasion and became president of an organization working on their behalf. Jane has conquered Attention Deficit Disorder and a lifetime of abusive relationships to finally live a peaceful yet productive life.
Jim offers these final words of advice.
The next time your life takes an unexpected turn, live in the moment and ‘be present’ because; YOU NEVER KNOW.
This story is now published in
Tales2Inspire ~ The Sapphire Collection
