Earth Angel

Some of you know that I, at 15 year old went to court to press charges of sexual abuse against my stepfather. He pled guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to 90 day to be served on weekends so he could go to work during the week. He is a White man. I lived with him and my mom during the week and he went to jail on the weekends.

What most of you don’t know is that during this time I met another man, White that would become an earth angel to me. He was a prosecutor. His name was Jim. He wasn’t on my case. I don’t even know how we started talking but for years I would stop by his office after school just to talk. James Findley talks about people who show up in our lives, people who can see us and don’t ask anything in return. People who in their witnessing of us help us to see ourselves.

I didn’t know this then, but him showing up at this time, him being a White man who could see me. Him not needs anything from me is in part how I can show up in the world as the promise of forgiveness and reconciliation.

There is something in those visit unbeknownst to us that was healing me. That was reconciling a wound in me.

I called Jim recently after about 35 years of not being in touched and was able to thank him and share a bit about who he had been to me. I told him that he was one of my Earth Angels.

He went on to tell me that he had done two tours in Vietnam. The second time he enlisted and was a part of special forces, they were called the Earth Angels.

Quanita