In an earlier email, I wrote about sitting with Alice, a young girl at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, while trying to draw a bunny. I shared how, as she worked on her bunny and some artwork for her bedroom door, she talked about her life, including “the guy” who had sexually abused her.
After that email went out, I heard back from one of our Ranch friends.
She wrote, “Praying always! Alice and I share that same unique sisterhood of little girls who were sexually assaulted. It is a club no one wants to join, and no one can ever leave. It has a lifetime membership. The cost? Everything you have. Your innocence, your memories, your dreams. The chance of recovery? Zip. Nada. None. Not in the sense of completely healed and back to normal. But this one thing I know. Truly know—72 years of knowing. What didn’t kill me made me stronger. Tough. Resilient. Empathetic. I pray for the day our club becomes obsolete. Sadly, I don’t see that happening. But I dream. Joy, this is not a “private “ message. You may share. One of the blessings of time passing is that I no longer feel shame. God walked through that fire with me. He walks with me every day. My Rock and my Redeemer!“
What an honor to be told this friend's truth.
I don’t know the rest of this friend’s story. I don’t know if she had good people in her life who helped her overcome the situation she was in. I don’t know if people believed her, or how long her torment lasted. I don’t know if she had the benefit of the type of treatment we have now to help address the impact of trauma.
I do know that the outcome of her story is the one we want each child who leaves the Ranch to have as their own. These kids experienced trauma before they came to us. True success would be if they leave saying, “What didn’t kill me made me stronger. Tough. Resilient. Empathetic. God walked through that fire with me. He walks with me every day. My Rock and my Redeemer!”
That is the mission of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, “To help at-risk children and their families succeed in the name of Christ.”
Please pray for the children and staff of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. And for each other… everyone has a story.
In His love,
Joy Ryan, President/CEO
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch
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