Suffering the agony of the rape in silence , Destiny did not tell a soul . She was embarrassed and afraid . She went from a happy talkative child , to a reserved little girl . Eventually she got the courage to tell her mother about what the Bishop had done to her . Instead of her mother ’ s love and understanding , her mother turned on her , brought her before the church , asked them to pray for her because she was telling lies . This nightmare would continue . Soon school officials noticed her weight gain . At the young age of 9 , she gave birth to her first child . Literally , a baby having a baby .
Destiny ’ s second chance at marriage was to a man who was 37 years old . She now was only 18 . Having had to drop out of school in the ninth grade she decided to go to a community college to obtain a certificate of business . This would enable her to help her husband lawn care business . Three years later her 8th baby is born . She put her mind and business knowledge to work and obtained city contracts . Before long her contracts were totaling $ 500,000 . She purchased a new home and she thought all was well . Eventually that marriage would come to an end .
The abuse continued for Destiny throughout her young life . Only 11 years old she forced to marry a young deacon from the church who was her 20 year old rapist . After several years of unhappiness and unrest she was able to divorce him and focus on raising her young children .
S . Von Johnson , Author Forgiving the Unforgivable Tallahassee , Florida Mother ' s 2015
Now in her mid-40 ’ s , and nine beautiful children . She was in a different phase of life . She was now a successful business woman of not one but several businesses . She had been waiting all of life for God ’ s help . Her vision was for a building complex to have counselors , educators , medical staff , childcare and on the job training staff to help children to feel safe . She envisions a place where individuals can stand on their own feet and be able to take care of themselves and their children . She desires to teach others about God ’ s saving grace and to let them know there is hope on the other side of their abuse . She wants people to understand that regardless of your past situation , there is still life to be lived .
PROGRAM SUCCESS MAGAZINE PAGE : 25 | MOTHERS DAY 2015