Remembering an angel

One week after Estella Scott- Robert’s death I was asked to write a tribute, I really thought I could, but what came out was senseless rhetoric and platitudes that would have irritated all those who knew and respected Estella.

I am in a place where I can write from the heart, unfettered as I can under the circumstances and do justice to the powerhouse that she was.

Estella Scott-Roberts, a child of God, a woman of strength, a soul that never ceased sharing the light. Estella Scott-Roberts, a daughter, a wife, and had she lived longer, she would have been a superb mother. She reached out to all whose voices were being muffled from the world, she stood in the line of fire for those whose armour has been pierced with violence, pain, and shame, she advocated on behalf of those whose hearts bleed tears.

No one can really understand why she chose such gut wrenching work, but whatever the grit was in her oyster, she created pearls of hope and countless new beginnings for women and children who needed, and continue to need them. We all carry her pearls within us: let’s not let our pearls lose their luster. The luster of love and light, the love of advocacy, the luster of protecting those who can’t do it for themselves, the luster of the right to feel the sun on our faces, the luster of appropriate love, the luster of boundaries, the luster of healing touch, the luster of support through the journey of life.

I have been sick both in mind and body as I imagined what our angel endured on her last night one earth, but the time for that has ended. Now is the time to take up the parts of her soul that she left with us, take up her mantle and carry the light of love to those she would want us to. This includes all who were involved in releasing her soul from its earthbound form: we should forgive them and let God deal with their hearts and souls as this is what Jesus would have done "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" Luke 23:34.

They really did not know that God would have used her death to galvanize a community, they did not realize that advocacy groups would renew their efforts to ensure that all of God’s children are loved, guided, supported and respected, they did not realize that a community would decide that it must do everything in its power to provide a safe, violence free, loving atmosphere for all mothers and children who live in constant fear of pain or even death. They did not know that God uses the actions of his children, even those too painful to recall now, to create something wonderful, brilliant and awe-inspiring.

As we think on the reasons we must have programs to raise awareness of the delicate situation of mothers and children, let us forgive ALL persons involved in the tragic but beautiful death of Estella Scott-Roberts. Sad though we may be about the early end to her body, rejoice in the knowledge that her soul has cast a new light over our community, for she was simply too bright a soul to be trapped amongst us forever, Her light will live on in all of us, even in the hearts of her murderers. God is in full control of everything, even when Satan’s mischief tries to pervert His action plan.

Since Estella’s soul was released back to God, I have been unsettled in my mind and heart, so after one of my crying sessions, I penned these words which I dedicate to Estella Scott- Roberts and all those whose lives are at half mast because of fear or lack of anything:

My Heart Cries Out For Love

by Patrice A. Donalds

My heart cries out for love

Love that respects me…even the prickly parts

Love that understands me…even when we disagree

Love that guides me, especially when I lose my way

Love that hugs me…even when I may not deserve it

Love that supports me…even when I don’t ask for it

Love that links me to the past…and reaches for the future

Love that loves me…even when I am unlovable

Love that touches like feathers…and surrounds me like the ocean

Love that has my best interest at heart…even when the path takes me in a different direction

Love that cares for me…with no conditions

Love that stays close to me….when I cry inside

Love that warms me with the fierceness of the sun

Love that lifts me up…when I lose my wings

Love that teaches me how to love

Love that brightens my life in the darkness

Love that lifts my laughter to God

Love that covers me in smiles

Love that never leaves…even if the soul passes on

Love that lingers in the heat, in the cold, in the night, in the day, in the time of plenty, in the time of empty, in sickness, in health

Love that stands without judgment from a flawed heart, a broken soul, a damaged body, a fractured mind, a splintered life

Love that simply loves me…for me!