Life Can Be Difficult. Wishing It Were Different Doesn’t Help
Life isn’t how many of us pictured it when we first ventured into this journey called adulthood. I can’t think of a single Finding Freedom through Friendship board member who is living a life that they would call perfect. Each of us has faced difficult, gut-wrenching issues that turn bright days dark.
Yolanda with board member Faby |
Yolanda spent months wishing for a different life when she discovered that her husband loved someone else, and that this someone was soon to have his child. She wanted her marriage to work out badly enough that she overlooked the nights he didn’t come home, the harsh words he spoke and the fear that she felt when she realized nothing could be done to change his heart. Leaving the house she felt forced out of was her personal definition of terror.
Finding the emotional strength to leave all that she knew behind is our definition of courage. This little mama stepped into her dark days and agreed to meet them with determination to do the right thing for the future of her two little girls. Without a degree, a job, reliable family members or even an apartment to live in, Yolanda leaned on the one resource she had….our board members in Guatemala, Faby and Vinnie. She took their hands, held tight and walked into the darkness called “a future without a husband.”
Weeks of worry and sleepless nights have passed, and she has now found an apartment. FFF is paying her rent while she looks for a job. The food supplements, cooking gas and vitamins we supply allows Yolanda to live independently. Knowing that she has a financial, spiritual and emotional safety net allows this young mother to put a difficult past behind her and to find faith in a future that is not yet defined.
Food donations from Finding Freedom. |
Here is the report from Faby and Vinnie, our facilitators in the city where this new and fragile little family resides:
Yolanda is just one of the women in our program; they are all equally and brilliantly strong in their resolute determination to make the best of difficult and sometimes brutal situations. We stand next to them in awe. Our Guatemalan FFF moms make our hardest days here in the states seem easy. They can’t wish away their problems, but we can offer the assistance needed to help them create a life worth living.