Speaking out against abuse in the home.
'Independence Day' was blaring out of the little speakers and Simmy was crying very angry tears.
"Oh, do not feel sorry for these tears," she thought. "They aren't tears of weakness." (She almost broke her keyboard with that quotation mark!)
She was so angry! This would not be a good day to cross her... fighting for self-control... tired of biting her tongue... tired of standing meekly, weakly by.
They could all take their form of godliness religion and shove it. There was no Christ in their... suffix- ians or suffix- isms. Their ians belonged to the devil and their isms of belief surely were in a state.
"'Everybody looked the other way,... the hospital, and even the church.'"
Now, Simmy loved the church but it was in deep need of some 'holiness in action and action in holiness.'
Her sister-in-law said, "You know what Dad said, he said, 'This is my house and I'll do what I want in my house.'" This, to him, meant treating his wife badly.
Today, Simmy felt 17 again...
Scene location- sitting at her in-laws kitchen table
Father-in-law... "Hey Sam, a man needs to give his wife a backhander every now and again to keep her in line."
Simmy's eyes had lit up the sky in a flash and she had aimed them at her father-in-law.
Words of steel issued forth from her mouth and she stood her ground... "If he ever, ever... does that... he's out of the house!"
Father-in-law, cowardly weakness wavering, unsure about this 17 year old spitfire, had said with a tone filled with hateful disrespect, "You're not serious!"
Simmy pulled out her word sword...
"O h, y-e-s, I a m!" She enunciated each single syllable word and the battle lines had been drawn. Weak man that he was, he had taken up a 'smear campaign' against Simmy and poisoned his oldest son with lies about her. All because she'd stood up to him when his own family was afraid of him. How can 10 people, all in one family, be afraid of 1 person? It didn't even seem possible.
Present day...
She'd stood by and watched this family. Her words had been spurned- not one of the rightful children.
"... let the right be wrong..."
You gotta wait til they want your words... now sister-in-law was asking... so Simmy spoke...,
"Now, I ain't saying it's right or it's wrong but maybe, 'and both Sam and I believe,' it's the only way. You believe it's wrong to have your folks living in separate quarters but what we've seen for all these years is not holy matrimony. Give your Mom an opportunity to live in a peaceful manner. She doesn't even know what that is after 56 years of physical and emotional abuse."
Sister-in-law sighed heavily, "I'll call the social worker at the hospital."
When Sam woke up, sister-in-law called, "Mom was just admitted and it looks like they'll keep her there for a couple of days. She pulled out her intravenous and is trying to leave the hospital. She said she wanted to go home but she's not in her right mind. I don't think they're going to let her."
Sam sighed and said, "Dad was saying she was all confused and couldn't put her clothes on properly but I don't think he's capable of organizing her medications like the doctors' said he should be able to. He gets abusive when things don't go well or easily. Maybe the social worker has some ideas. They deal with this all the time."
Sam hung up and said to Simmy, "My Dad's 'losing it' too. We need to put Mom into Meadowood Manor and then see if they have another room for Dad once she's settled."
Simmy nodded, "Your Dad has put on quite the show for all the people he's gone to church with, for years. He tithed to the church and your Mom and you guys got liver and onions for dinner. I can hardly believe that nobody in church ever dealt with some of that. Didn't you tell me that you had to share a Christmas present when you got one? Little children suffering while Daddy tithes to the church and beats his wife and children. Lovely gospel. It's no wonder we Christians can't change the world. I think this is a 'desiring mercy over sacrifice situation.'"
Sam was quiet, his childhood humiliation a closed door topic.
"My parents' relationship has not been a beauty of Christ display."
"Well, you and I know that!"
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