Luella's Corner presents Women of Courage every Monday at 4:00 pm Eastern Standard time.
Call in number (347) 205-9063
We welcome back our marvelous Team who adds quality and expertise to Women of Courage.
AdlandPro's very own Women of Courage:
Carla Cash
http://community.adlandpro.com/go/245569/default.aspx
Pauline Raina http://community.adlandpro.com/go/301079/default.aspx
Branka Babic http://community.adlandpro.com/go/BrankaBabic/default.aspx
Our very own Man of Courage
Georgios Paraskevopoulos http://community.adlandpro.com/go/Genesis/default.aspx
Our Sweethearts of Courage
Shirley Caron http://community.adlandpro.com/go/scaronpoet2005/default.aspx
Michael Caron http://community.adlandpro.com/go/192260/default.aspx
I am most proud to present a most beautiful and most humble of ladies. Yet, through the most difficult of trials, and tragedies, and one tragedy that shattered her heart to pieces, this Woman of Courage continues loving and giving.
I present to you
Mary Denham
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow." ~Mary Anne Radmacher
The minute I saw the above quote, I knew that it described none other than Mary Denham.
Who is Mary Denham? No one has ever heard of her. She is by no means famous, she is not even an adland member. Yet Mary is by far the greatest philanthropist in the world. I call her the greatest philanthropist in the world because she uses something far more valuable than money. Mary uses her heart.
I first met Mary on moving to Mississippi some years ago. We met quite by accident. No we didn't. It was destiny. Looking to buy a house, I did not go through realtors. I just went on auto pilot so to speak riding here and there and, of course, it had to be in the country. One thing led to another and I found myself in front of Mary's house. There was Mary doing yardwork wearing a big hat to keep her out of the sun while her brother Donnie pushed a mower. Her little dog was romping and playing in the yard. We made a verbal agreement that I would be the next owner of her house. That is the day that Mary moved into my heart.
Mary is one of 10 children and from its onset, her life has been a challenge. Being daddy's little girl, she was quite seriously abused by her mother. While taking steps to protect herself, she also took it upon herself to be her siblings' protector. Yet, she understands the intricacies of the heart. She understands that her mother did the best she could with the heartbreaks that she, herself, suffered. Her love for her mother never wavered. She always loved and will always love her.
"You make your life with whatever you do. If you are given lemons, you can use them to make lemonade." - Mary Denham
This may have been the experience that brought the caregiver role out in Mary. She took care of the other children, she protected them, she loved them and did all she could to fill the role that her mother was not able to.
Mary, grew up, married and had her own children to love and care for. She gave birth to twins, Cindy and Lindy. The worst tragedy of all occurred on the loss of Lindy in a tragic accident. The worst tragedy than can befall a person is the loss of their child. That is when Mary's very own life almost ended. No, not physically. That is when her heart lost its will to go on. Yet, when there was no hope in her life, when she did not have a single person to turn to, she turned to God. It was God, who held her in His tender embrace, who held her up and helped Mary to live again. She stated that had God not been first and foremost in her life, she would have truly given up on life.
Can you ever be the same after the loss of a child? Hardly. Yet, one can see that Mary and Lindy are still together, as Lindy lives in Mary's heart. Lindy shares every facet of Mary's life. I often tell those suffering from a loss that death does not break the bonds of love. In fact, I will go further and state that death cannot break the bonds of love. Yet, how can one comfort someone in this type of loss? One cannot.
Mary continued loving and caring wherever there was a need. Yet, fate was not done with Mary. Fifteen years ago, once again, tragedy struck. Her brother suffered head trauma through violent means. Although it did not take his physical life, he really did lose his life as he suffered massive head trauma. Donnie was to become a different person and would never be able to care for himself again. The loving sister, the little girl who once cared for and protected her siblings, took over. To this day Mary cares for Donnie and includes him in every aspect of her life. The sacrifices she has made have been many and she has forsaken her own happiness to care for her brother. Let me tell you, this is not merely taking care of another human being. I will not even compare taking care of her brother to taking care of a child. Every day is a most difficult challenge for her, physically but most of all emotionally. Yet, she will not release Donnie to a group home, as she will not accept anything less than the best of everything for him.
I have never met anyone more beautiful and humble than Mary. And I will tell you that Mary's beauty shines from the inside to the outside. With all her trials, when your eyes gaze on Mary's face, you see no evidence of the trials, hardships, and challenges that she has undergone and still undergoes. Looking upon her face you see nothing but love.
I am going to send this link to Mary so that she can be a part of this celebration. It would be such a blessing if this celebration would prompt her to join this marvelous community. I know the love that all of you have in your heart. She would be blessed and I assure you, she will bless your heart.
I will be interviewing Mary on Blogtalk Radio today at 4:00 pm EST. I invite you all to join us. I promise, Mary will inspire you.
Mary, I thank you for giving me the honor to celebrate your life and accomplishments. And yes, you do indeed have a story my cherished friend, one of the most beautiful that I know of. Your "light" will encourage and bring hope to many.
Thank you
