Katrina in Bloom

I watch a lot of crime TV. I guess with my background in medical forensics, I'm drawn to it, even though I'm retired. I happened to tune in to 48 hours and watched the story of Katrina Brownlee unfold. She grew up  in disadvantaged conditions. She married a law enforcement officer, hoping to escape her past and live in security. Sadly, that was not what happened.  Her husband abused her.  He ended up shooting her in the abdomen a total of 10 TIMES. 10 TIMES...and she survived it all. In spite of nearly losing her life, she blossomed and became a correction officer herself. She is now retired but continues to serve her community through an organization she founded called Young Ladies of Our Future. She's written her memoirs in a book called "And Then Came the Blues".   She had beautiful roses tattooed on her tummy and transformed the pain of her wounds into something beautiful.  Isn't that what God does for us?  He takes sin and inequities and transforms it into something beautiful.  God brings certain people through the valley of the shadow to show us something. Katrina's story touched me so deeply that I was compelled to contact her. She responded so kindly. I told her I would paint a picture of her and here it is.

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