And Now She Is So Very Strong

I just read once again a story in the Virginian Pilot from February 23 of this year. I had not read it in a very long time. It is a story about a little girl whose entire life had been...(I do not have a word that is strong enough to use here to describe the pain that she constantly faced).

The first thing she said to me when we met in my office was "No one told me why I am here."

She looked frail. She looked scared. She did not look like she does now.

Those looks were deceiving. A boat that has been battered by a storm, sails torn, taking on water, yet still afloat and refusing to sink looks weak and frail. But the reality is that were it not strong, well made, and resilient it would have sunk a long time ago. That boat is stronger than the eye can see or the mind can understand.

And now she trains horses and helps me teach kids. And she is so very strong.

And now she holds on to the rearing horse when others would have turned loose. And she is so very strong.

And now when she steps up to a microphone her voice electrifies the room. And she is so very strong.

And now her courage has helped to inspire people who she has never met who have also been battered by the storm. And she is so very strong.

And I love her as if she were my own daughter. She is so very, very strong.