“I came here broken with nothing, but I refuse to leave that way”
The women who come to Sheltering Wings usually bring very little with them. They do carry a lot of different worries. For Diana, who walked through our doors on a chilly December evening, it was whether she would be ruining Christmas for her young son. “I felt like the worst mother in the world, leaving our home and our belongings behind at that time of year.”
As a child raised in foster care, Diana remembered a long series of bleak Christmases, and was determined to do better for her own child. But she was becoming convinced that she didn’t have a choice. “Things just kept getting worse at home. And I knew that if I didn’t leave, my husband was going to either really hurt me or maybe kill me. The worst part of it was that my son would be there to witness it happen. I had no choice, so I packed what I could and decided to make a phone call that would change my life.”
She made the call and left with what she could carry. “I left my home with a few bags packed, mostly my son’s clothes and a couple toys. I had no vehicle and no money. My son and I were brought to a completely different county by a police officer. I didn’t know where I was or how to get anywhere. I really felt lost.”
That feeling didn’t last. “I instantly fell in love with Sheltering Wings. The staff lifted me back up spiritually and emotionally and gave me the strength and motivation I needed not only to work towards my dreams but to also keep a smile on my face.”
Sheltering Wings was there to protect Diana and her young son. After her phone call, the police removed her from a dangerous setting and put her in a place where she would be safe. But she discovered that the feeling of safety was just the beginning. The staff spent time with her to better understand her needs. They talked about her dreams. They helped her understand what was wrong with her marriage, and talked about what relationships should be like. They helped her create a plan to move forward into a safe, independent life in which she could fulfill her potential, and they shared skills to help her become the mother she dreamed of being.
“I came here broken with nothing, but I refused to leave here that way. I’ve gone from being a ward of the court to someone who was a battered mother, and now I am a woman of God, a survivor, and a college student! God has put it in my heart to help others, so I am seeking a degree in social work. I plan to transfer from Ivy Tech to IUPUI this spring, and I hope to have my Bachelor’s degree within 4 years.”
Diana says that she wouldn’t be where she is today if it hadn’t been for the overwhelming love she felt at Sheltering Wings. “For the first time in a long time, when I walked into Sheltering Wings. I felt God’s presence. I saw his face on the staff that helped me to my room, that hugged me, encouraged me, laughed with me, cried with me, and I saw a little piece of him in every woman and child that walked through this place. God brought me here and gave me the family I had been missing my whole life.”
Her journey began with our emergency services, but that’s hardly the end of her story. “I believe that SW is not only a success but it’s a miraculous place. I believe that once you walk through those doors, no matter what your life has been like in the past, Sheltering Wings gives you everything you need to transform something ugly into something beautiful. It doesn’t matter where you came from, or what your past looks like. God’s here, ready to breathe love and life back into all of us.”
