Meaningful Monday

I am a little bit late getting my Meaningful Monday posted. We had errands to run today. With gas prices so high and the fact that we live 30 minutes from town, we are trying to combine as much as we can into each trip to town. By doing that it means that when we leave the mountain we are going to be gone for a while. I have tried to remember to bring the camera with me since the beginning of the month just so we could get pictures of this display. I remembered today!!

Now I bet you are asking "What's with all of the pinwheels?" That is exactly what I asked when I saw this display last year.

When you read the sign, all of those pinwheels brings about a pretty sobering effect. 409 cases of child abuse in one county in Ohio. Like the sign says...... "and those are only the ones reported." It makes me wonder how many reported cases of child abuse was there for the entire state? How many reported cases of child abuse was there for the entire nation? I am sure that those numbers reflect physical and sexual abuse, but not emotional/verbal abuse. Emotional/verbal abuse can be just as damaging as its siblings sexual and physical abuse. It lays deep rooted in the mind and soul of the abused child and plays an intricate part in a child's development the same as the other forms of abuse. The difference being that because there are no visible bruising, cuts, breaks, etc. it is often overlooked by others who can help stop the abuse. What a very sad life these children live, at least those children that live through the abuse.


I know that many people are thinking there wasn't this much abuse years ago when they were growing up. I think there was, we just didn't hear about it as much. It was for the most part not talked about. Pretty much like divorce, alcoholism or unwed pregnant women were not talked about. All of these things were locked away within the walls of a house and kept secret. So many people are very uncomfortable with the topic of abuse. That needs to change, because a child that is being abused needs someone that will stand up for them and be heard. Many times abused children remain quiet about this awful thing that is happening to them because they have been made to believe that they were at fault and deserve what is happening to them.

I checked Wikipedia for their definition of child abuse. Check it out, you might find it interesting. If you are a parent or grandparent of a child still at home, take a good look at your children and give them a big hug and say a little prayer of thanksgiving for being trusted with such a wonderful gift. If you are an abusive parent, please look at your children and give them a big hug and say a little prayer that you will be forgiven for mistreating that wonderful gift that you were trusted with and Please, Please seek help before it is too late.

Wishes for a blessed week to all. ~Jo