Skip to main content

Court date

Child abuse stories: they both challenge and sicken me. 

I'm torn between compassion and judgement, anger and mercy, and all the while I shudder at how many lives are changed, often irrevocably damaged, in one instant by one terrible choice. 

 For some it's the same heinous, misguided, well-rationalized choice over and over again.

 I scratch my head at all the poor choices I've made, and loved ones have made, that really did make sense at the time. And I imagine that these individuals — all somebody's baby at one time, all full of potential at one time — probably thought their decisions made perfect sense, too. 

 So what sets us apart? If all sins are equally reviling in the sight of God, what sets us apart from the child molester, the spouse-abuser, the porn-heroin-alcohol-gambling-addicted person? Whose misguided decisions are more unforgivable?

Maybe that's the lesson: compassion. 

I hate what they did, but the fact is, at some point a mama looked in her baby's eyes and dreamed a world of good for them. This is how they turned out. Who's heart remains unbroken?

 I can't get sucked into their evil. But I can't turn my back on their humanity.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Perspective

In this composite using my macro rose with a friend's drone photo, I combined his expansive perspective with my intimate point of view.  It's a great analogy for how I like to create — examine all sides of a subject before shooting, writing or forming an opinion about it. Both views are essential, and it's often of great benefit to view them at the same time.
Post a Comment
Read more

Favorite Destination: Genesee Country Village & Museum

My daydreams these days revolve around a fully converted, off-grid-capable camper van, an assortment of photography/computer/wifi gear, a thermos of fresh coffee, a full tank of gas and miles of open road. Sadly, I have neither the budget nor expertise to convert a van, much less launch out on a fall foliage tour of the Adirondacks, America’s breathtaking national parks or wherever that open road might take me. Instead, I watch Facebook and Instagram and travel vicariously through the images of friends and mentors. Which is why my bi-weekly day-trips to the hamlet of Mumford have been a godsend over the last two years. Without spending more than a few dollars for gas and traveling less than an hour west on Routes 5&20, I can be transported — for the better part of a day — to another world. Genesee Country Village and Museum, the third largest living museum in the United States, is a 600-acre complex boasting 68 historical buildings and an army of costumed interpreters who love loca...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saratoga Racetrack

You know those places you return to again and again, where each time is just like the first and still better than the last? Saratoga is one of those places for me, and particularly the racetrack, where money and booze, thoroughbreds and jockeys, silk and leather, cigars and fancy hats rub shoulders and exchange nods like members of a secret society. The horses are sexy and strong. The women are perfumed and their rainbow colored hair meticulously coifed. Men look snappy and elegant if they're owners or regulars, and tired and intensely focused if they're handlers. Teller lines are long but fast moving and all faces are furtively fixed on video boards and CC TVs. Trackside, the atmosphere is electric and bright as thoroughbreds thunder by, sweating, gasping, veins and muscles bulging and covered in mud. Yeah. I like it. I hope I get to go back.
Post a Comment
Read more