A Lament for TC

October is Domestic Awareness Month. This post is dedicated to a special woman: a Lament for TC.

One Fall several years ago, I began that season in my life with a new purpose: volunteering at a battled women’s shelter. My goal was to make a difference in the lives of hurting women.

I Was So Excited

After months of training, I was finally allowed to know the shelter’s location. During my first time there I met TC*, a beautiful young girl mother with long blonde hair and sad gray eyes. TC had a four-year old daughter named Jennie, who was a slighter version of her mother but just as beautiful. A beating by her husband once again caused the police to bring her and Jennie to the shelter for a reprieve. We were all encouraged and excited when she declared that would be the last beating she’d take from him.

All of the volunteers fell in love with TC and Jennie. We taught TC mom tips on healthy food choices as well as different ways to encourage her daughter how to steer aways from bad choices. Day after day we worked with her on different life skills … from balancing a checkbook to applying for a job.

A Great Process

They both thrived from the love we offered at the shelter. TC told us for the first time in years not only did she stop fearing life, but she actually looked forward to her future. We watched as she became stronger each day, more self-confident and eager to move out of the shelter and into a place of her own. We always stressed safety with them. TC’s court-appointed attorney, as well as the police who regularly stopped by, told her never to be alone with her husband. He had hurt them before; there was no knowing what he’d do now since there were charges against him.

Soon the time came when we had finally gathered enough supplies for a new apartment for TC and Jennie. What a time of celebration. TC said she could actually see a light at the end of their tunnel of abuse.

Life moved on for TC. She settled into her new place, decorating it with donated trinkets and baubles. It looked like a palace. All the volunteers took turns stopping by to visit her, making sure she had everything she needed.  As the holiday season inched closer, all the volunteers  pulled together and purchased a Christmas tree, decorations, and a few new presents for her and Jennie. Life was beginning anew for them.

Life was looking up for this mother and daughter.

Maybe it was because of the holiday spirit, or maybe it was loneliness, but TC let her guard down when her husband called on Christmas morning and asked to come over to bring presents for her and their daughter. We told her never to be alone with him, but after all, it was Christmas. What could happen?

Lots happened.

A man walking his dog in TC’s neighborhood helped pull together the facts of the morning. As we learned, when TC opened her door, Tom greeted her with  a gun pointed at her face. In a moment there was one shot  and TC fell dead. He then grabbed little Jennie and dragged her to his truck. When more neighbors heard the shot and Jennie’s screams, they started pouring into the street to see what had happened. TC was found dead and lying in the opened doorway. Focus then turned to the sounds of Jennie’s cries from Tom’s truck parked in the street. While neighbors in the street began encircling the truck begging him to let Jennie go, others made calls to 9-1-1.

Tom Wasn’t Done

Apparently, agitated by Jennie’s screams, Tom pulled Jennie into his lap as he put the barrel of the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Jennie, dripping with blood, squirmed away from his slouched body, unlocked the truck’s door, and made her way to the arms of waiting neighbors. When the EMT’s arrived, some confirmed TC’s death while others rushed Jennie and Tom to the hospital.  There, they pulled Tom from Death’s door two separate times. Jennie was examined and it was determined that no physical harm had come to her.**

I thought I was going to change the world when I started volunteering at the shelter. Little did I know that TC would change mine.

I thought I'd change the world when I started volunteering at a domestic violence shelter. Little did I know how my life would change. #Domesticviolencemonth Share on X

Domestic abuse is real. TC was the first woman I worked with who tried to leave domestic violence. She had been given the tools to start a new life, yet she still died at the hands of her abuser.

God did not mean for people to treat each other violently. Please pray for all who deal with domestic abuse.

To the Abused … Contact https://www.thehotline.org/ if you need assistance. Don’t let shame stop you.  I pray you’ll use truth and knowledge instead of emotion and fear when dealing with your abuser.

* Actual initials of the person in this story

** Tom recovered but was permanently blinded by the gunshot. He was sent to prison for first degree murder. Because he refused to give up custody of Jennie, she stayed in foster homes until she turned 18.

What say you?

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