By Brianna Dodge, Content and Communications Coordinator
This story is based on true events.
Imani walked the same path home as she always did, paying attention to all of the familiar surrounding landmarks and cracks in the sidewalk as she followed it back step by step. Around the corner from the motel, she passed the gas station, the laundry mat, and her favorite Chinese place. As she saw it, her stomach growled and she realized that she hadn’t eaten in over two days. Imani winced. She wanted to stop and pick up some take out, but she knew if she came home with any evidence of lunch, Sean wouldn’t be happy that she went in without him. He didn’t like for Imani to go anywhere without him. She had to leave straight from the motel to come home. Those were the rules.
“Maybe I can talk him into coming back later,” she thought.
She continued her walk home. She was almost there, with probably a block or so left to go. As she began to walk past the grocery store near her apartment, she noticed the car pulling up to the stop sign beside her. As the car pulled to a stop, she saw that the driver began to roll down his window. Nervously, she stared down at the sidewalk and continued on. In her experience, talking to anyone who rolls down their window for you at a stop sign never ends well.
“I’m sorry to bother you!” the driver said. “How are you doing today?” he asked.
Imani quickly gave him a side glance, but then looked back down and didn’t answer.
“I know this is probably a little unusual, but I felt led to stop and give you a book. Would it be alright if I left this with you?” He stretched out his hand with the book. Hesitantly, Imani looked up at him and then down at the book. She paused for another moment, and then reached out to take it, confused. “Why would this stranger just randomly stop to offer me a book?” She thought.
“Thanks.” Imani muttered under her breath. He talked with her for another minute about God, and told her that God loved her and had a plan for her life. It wasn’t anything new to Imani. She had grown up in church, but everyone she knew from church always made it sound like you had to be good for God to love you. Imani hadn’t felt “good” for a long time. But what this man was saying felt different. According to this man, God just loved her, period. She found that hard to believe. No one loves you without getting something in return.
Is there anything that I can pray about for you?” he asked.
This caught Imani off guard. No one had ever asked her if they could pray for her before. She had heard people talk to her about God plenty of times before, and just ignored them. But the idea of receiving prayer meant something to her. It made her feel, just for a second, like someone might actually care about her. But that feeling was gone as quickly as it came.
“No, thanks, I’m good.” she said.
The man nodded and said he would continue praying for her, and then drove on. But something about that interaction stuck with her. She felt seen – really seen – for the first time in a long time. Then she looked down and noticed that the man on the book’s cover was the same man who handed it to her. The title of the book said, “Mission Possible” by Tim Tebow.
She quickly took the book and tucked it into one of the interior pockets of her backpack. Even though she still felt confused by the interaction, she was drawn to read the book. She kept the book hidden from Sean in the pocket of her backpack so that he wouldn’t find it and think she had gone anywhere or talked to anyone without him.
At night when Sean was asleep, she would sneak into the bathroom to read the book. Chapter by chapter, she began to feel hope rising within her for the first time in her life. A veil lifted, and she began to see her life and relationship with Sean differently. She began to see God differently and started longing for something new. On her phone, she searched for information about Tim Tebow and came across Her Song’s website. She was amazed at the program they offered women and felt like that could be her ticket to freedom.
One night, Sean caught Imani taking the book into the bathroom. He destroyed the book, but he was too late to destroy the hope that had been building within Imani’s heart. She had had a glimpse of God’s divine love for her, and knew He would make a way for her to find a way out of her situation.
The next week, Imani found herself walking home down the same sidewalk when something within her clicked. She remembered what she had learned about Her Song’s program, and decided she would reach out to them for help. She stopped into the gas station on the corner and asked to borrow the cashier’s phone. She was able to call Her Song’s Hope Line and received help quickly that connected her to safety nearby.
Imani’s help from Her Song was only the beginning of her healing journey. But for the first time in her life, she believed that true healing was possible. One foot in front of the other, she began to follow the new path that the Lord had carved out for her.
Join Her Song in our mission to empower survivors like Imani with the resources they need to pursue a life of sustainable freedom. This year, give the gift of hope.
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