Posted on 06/12/2005 4:44:10 PM PDT by wagglebee
I recently found out that a very close friend of my family was raped last winter. She is a 21 year old college student who was in Europe on a foreign exchange program. One night a guy she somewhat knew raped her.
She returned home to the US soon after this. Out of shame, she did not tell her family what had happened (she was a virgin at the time of the rape). After a couple of months she realized that she was pregnant. She is a devout Catholic and abortion was never a consideration; she considered putting the baby up for adoption, but decided to keep the baby. The baby is due in a couple of months. She only has 6 credits left to complete her degree, so she will commute to school every day while her mother cares for her baby.
Please pray that this brave young woman can find a sense of joy from her child that will overcome the darkest episode of her life.
Thank You
Thank you for the PING BG...
Prayers lifted for this young woman and her child...
The Lord knows her...the Lord made her...may He protect her and her child.
Ahhh, true love from a mother for her baby. To hell with the perpetrator...he has nothing. She will have someone to love her for the rest of her life. God bless her, the baby and those who support and help her to continue towards her degree. She will have a good job and an honorable life. God bless her decision to keep her child.
I know if I was her mom I'd be so proud that I raised a young woman with so much character and bravery!
May this innocent baby bring her all the joy, happiness, spirit of hope and contentment that only a precious child can bring. The Lord must be smiling at such a brave young lady - determined to honor Him!
Prayers offered.
Oh yeah. That's for sure.
Wagglebee...would you be so kind as to pass this on to her mom?
Prayers for this young woman and her child.
She will do just fine as she has already risen above any shame, humility or pain and filled her heart with compassion, and humble herself for anothers life.
She is what this world needs more of.
May Jesus Christ the Lord Bless her and her child for their lifetimes to come. Kudos to Gramma for her love also.
Prayers up for all concerned...
She and her baby will surely have my prayers. She has a great deal of courage and love to keep her baby, that is wonderful. I will offer my Mass intentions each day this week for her and her baby. May God bless them both abundantly.
Wagglebee, this union of mother and daughter may have been set in motion by an act of evil, but our Lord and Savior took residence in this woman's heart, and turned a moment of ugliness into a lifetime of righteousness and beauty. What a blessed life they will have, and how proud her parents...and very good friends...must be of her.
Praise the Lord, may he bless this union for all their lives.
(Romans 10:17)
If my sister came up with a story like this I would question it. She was forcibly raped, knows who the guy is, yet she failed to report it to anyone. Any one who has ever observed young adults during spring break can attest to the wild shenanigans that goes on ,even if from close , conservative families. This girl in Aruba was from a family that was close and conservative yet she made a bad judgement call. All I am saying is that it is not unusual for young adults to have sex and then feel guilty about it later. Remember, she knows who the guy is. Would she be willing to have him charged with rape at this time or has she forgiven him?
I can tell you are a man. I've worked in an emergency room, and I can tell you that most young women absolutely find it unbearablle to discuss their humiliation, powerlessness, pain and fear with ANYONE, even the most sympathetic of strangers, much less the authorities in a strange country.
Most find it very difficult if not impossible to bring their thoughts to the event. Most blame themselves for making unwise choices--which could not have been known until afterward.
It is agonizing to be the victim of rape. Women walk forward from it each in her own personal way, and this young lady certainly has my prayers, as does her loving family and the dear child.
Yes rape is a very ugly crime but my being a man has nothing to do with it and I resent that you implied it. Rape is a very serious accusation and should not be taken lightly.How many men have been accused of rape after a night of consentual sex because either the parents or sometimes the husband caught them in the act or because the woman found out she was pregnant. I am not saying this woman was not raped, I am saying it is a very convenient excuse, her knowing the man and yet not saying anything until after she finds out she is pregnant.
I have no further comment.
Carolyn
Prayers sent for this young lady and her baby. Lord, give her strength.
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