Walking in Circles

This past weekend, a woman was beaten to death here in Nashville. I don't remember reading about the police finding her body on Monday or the fact that they could not identify her.  She was found on the 4th of July though and there was a lot going on.   On Wednesday morning when they were finally able to identify her, I learned in a staff meeting that she was a friend of mine.  She was a graduate of Magdalene, two-year residential communities for women who have survived lives of abuse, addiction, prostitution and violence.  

Rosalyn was a beautiful woman who overcame huge obstacles to reclaim her life and become independent. She was a quiet learner and dedicated in her life of prayer.  I remember one afternoon going to bless her home after she had over two years clean from life on the streets and in jail.  She was so proud of all she had accomplished.  I remember that she was unwavering in her desire to stay clean and sober and was a hard worker.   Rosalyn had endured a difficult life and consequently made some rash choices, but she was a survivor and dauntless in her recovery.  In her last year she suffered the loss of her job, her home, her car, and almost all of her worldly possessions before she was murdered. 

This loss is a painful loss, and as the news is sinking in, I find myself grieving for more than my friend Rosalyn. I grieve for all  women who are still suffering on our streets, vulnerable to being beaten beyond recognition and even to death.  If we allow ourselves the privilege of grieving Rosalyn, there is the possibility that our hearts can break with all the heaviness in this world from the senseless violence and private suffering.   But there is also the possibility that our grief will embolden us to love more powerfully and work more diligently in our efforts to be about healing. My heart goes out to Rosalyn's family and to all her sisters in Magdalene who loved her.  

Today we will mourn her with much respect and fond memories.  We will celebrate the years she knew clean and sober and all the gifts she offered our community.  We will hold each other a little closer and worry about other women who are walking the streets tonight.  We will pray for the mystery of recovery to take root  and bring them home safely.  And we will continue to work hard to be witnesses to the truth that in the end love is the most powerful force for change in all of our lives.  And we will continue to go and speak our truth in the alleys and in the prisons and in religious communities about how it is that the life of a beautiful child of God like Rosalyn ended so senselessly and how we can all make use of our sadness by bringing women home. 

Marcus and I took this picture yesterday. This is the one flower blooming at our new building. It is a single thistle. The rest of the yard is mud.  This thistle seems to have thrived in the flood waters; the deep tap root was steady in the storm.  It soaked in the water and is stronger and more beautiful. I love that there is just one on the side lot. One is all we need to remember the thousand more that can bloom from its seeds. I love you all. That's enough of a sign for me.

We just completed the seventh leg on the Find Your Way Home Prison Tourin Atlanta. Peachtree Road United Methodist Church hosted us on Sunday. In addition to selling $3,400 of Thistle Farms products, we made lots of new friends, hosted a forum, and learned about Peachtree's ministry with the Metro Atlanta Women’s prison.

On Monday evening, Marcus Hummon,Julie Roberts, Don Schlitz, and Emily Saliers played a benefit at Eddie’s Attic. That evening we made another $3,400 in sales and invited the packed room to become Thistle Farmers. Tara Adcock and Katrina Robertson from Thistle Farms told a little bit about who we are and why we are traveling around the country. My favorite moment was when Tara covered her eyes and through tears said to the crowd, "you have no idea what it feels like to me to be loved by strangers. You don't know me, and I can feel your love.”

The next day we all went into the prison. Volunteer Carolyn Snell, Abingdon Publishing's John Kutsko and two journalists from the Atlanta Journal Constitution joined us and we offered out presentation to 300 women inmates. The prison choir joined Emily in a rendition of "Amazing Grace". The crowd all sang along on Don's "The Gambler". I spoke about the similarities we were experiencing in the prisons and how I believed in the power of women working in community. Seeing several pregnant women was humbling. Listening to the stories after the presentation undoes me. It's a hard world, and I am grateful to walk through it with friends who continue to try and love the whole world one person at a time.