Love Is About Keeping Faith

LOVE IS ABOUT KEEPING FAITHWhen the world lets you down, is there somebody who will keep faith?In her book SMALL SACRIFICES, (Signet, 1988) Ann Rule tells a gruesomestory of a mother who sacrificed her three children and how one familywent the distance to set things right.Diane Downs rushed to the emergency room covered in blood. Shescreamed that her children were in the car and had been shot. She saidshe'd stopped to help a hitch-hiker who pulled a gun and shot allthree of her children in the head and torso. Her five-year-olddaughter died. Her little son Danny was paralyzed and would certainlysuffer psychological trauma. Her six-year-old daughter Christiesuffered a stroke, some paralysis and, like Danny, psychologicaltrauma.Police immediately scoured the area for her assailant. But theinvestigation eventually turned from the search for an elusive killerto the motive for a mother to harm her own children. Dianeapparently had been having an affair with a married man named Lew. Hewas not interested in being with her when the children were around,so, the prosecution later postulated, Diane decided to eliminate herchildren in order to keep Lew.During the saga, one man took a genuine interest in her children. Hewas Fred Hugi, the prosecuting attorney. Hugi was married, but theyhad no children. He always said he never liked kids and had nothing todo with them. But all that changed when he visited Danny and Christiein the hospital. His eyes filled with tears at the sight of Christie.She could not move, but she made eye contactwith the lawyer. That day he walked away filled with love andcompassion for the helpless children.Hugi visited her several times a week. She was eventually given tocaring foster parents and the attorney continued his visits.Over a year later the case finally went to trial. The most solidevidence against Diane came from her daughter Christie. She told ahorrific tale about the frightening events of that night. She wasafraid of her mother and needed reassurance that she would be safeif she testified. She told how her mother had shot all three

children v Danny on the floor of the car, her sister in the back seatand she in the front. She described in detail her fear, shock anddisbelief.Diane Downs was finally convicted and is serving time in prison. Herchildren continued to live with the same foster family for two moreyears.This sad story of a mother's brutality doesn't end here, however. Ittakes a wondrous and beautiful spin. For both children were eventuallyadopted by a caring family committed to raising and loving them,regardless of their long-term special needs. It was a couple whodidn't have any other children of their own and wanted to be faithfulto Christie and Danny for the rest of their lives. They were adoptedby Fred and Joanne Hugi v the prosecuting attorney who lovedChristie the first time he saw her fighting for her life in a hospitalbed. This family chose to go the distance, to keep faith with twosmall children when the world had been so unfaithful.As Emmet Fox says so well:"There is no difficulty that enough LOVE will not conquer,no disease that enough LOVE will not heal,no door that enough LOVE will not open,no gulf that enough LOVE will not bridge,no wall that enough LOVE will not throw down,no sin that enough LOVE will not redeem..."Sometimes love is just about keeping faith.__________Steve Goodier Publisher@... is a professionalspeaker, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site formore information, or to sign up for his FREE newsletter of Life, Loveand Laughter at http://LifeSupportSystem.com.