Margie Warrell was almost five months pregnant when she found herself in the middle of an armed robbery while working for a small business in Papua New Guinea. Margie was in the office where the safe was located; the thieves assumed that she had the keys to open it. "Unfortunately," she recounts, "I didn't. One put a gun at my head and demanded repeatedly that I open the safe. I said I couldn't but they kept insisting. They made me lie on the ground and one of the thieves put his hand up my skirt. In PNG, gang rape was common and I remember praying to God that they wouldn't take me with them. After several minutes one of his accomplices announced he'd found the cash in my bosses office and they all left."
Shortly afterwards, Margie learned her baby had died. She remembers falling to the ground and shaking in uncontrollable shock and grief. Margie felt like her life had been literally turned upside down having gone through these two incredibly traumatic events one after the other. Within a short period of time, Margie had two more miscarriages. She states, "I've always had a strong faith in God and although I had absolutely no idea why I had found myself in the middle of a robbery with a gun at my head, I still clung to my faith that somehow, in some mysterious inexplicable way, there would be something good to come from the pain and anguish. I also knew that I had to forgive the men who were involved."
That was 10 years ago this month. Now, as Margie reviews the last ten years of her life, she says that she feels very blessed to be able to say that she can see with tremendous clarity how that painful time in her life "bolstered her faith in the belief that we really are creators of our own life experience. That is, we can't always choose our experiences in life, but we can always choose our experience of life." She also stated that, "Not only do I have far greater compassion for others who have been through similar (or for many, far far worse) experiences, but it has given me perspective to realize that nothing, no matter how bad it seems at the time, has the power to 'ruin' our life unless we allow it to."
Margie says that for her, healing came in 3 parts:
Open your heart and seek to forgive whomever you need to forgive, including yourself. Harboring feelings of revenge, hate or bitterness only poisons the quality of your life and serves no positive purpose at all.
Open your mind to the possibility that some greater good will come from your experience. You don't have to figure out exactly what that will be right now. Keep your mind open to the possibility that at some point in time down the road of your life you will come to see that more than the experience undermined the quality of your life, it enriched it, and served to make you a stronger, more courageous, more compassionate and bigger person than you might ever have been otherwise become.
Be patient and let go your time frame for healing or recovery and simply trust that it will happen in good time.
Today, Margie is a busy mother of four beautiful, healthy children. She lives with her husband of 13 years in Virginia. She also works as a life coach, professional speaker and writer. Earlier this year she co-authored a book, 101 Ways to Improve Your Life, with Richard Carlson, Jack Canfield, John Gray. Next spring her book, Find Your Courage! Unleash Your Full Potential and Live the Life You Really Want will be released. Margie is nominated with this month's Predators Hero Award for moving beyond her pain and using her life experience to help others find healing.
Thank you, Margie!
If you would like to contact Margie and learn how she may be able to help you, or if you would like to sign up for her free monthly newsletter "Live Your Greatest Life!", please visit her website at http://www.margiewarrell.com.
Are you a Predators Survivor Hero? Do you know someone that was a victim of crime and has moved beyond his or her situation to make a difference for others? If so, we want to hear from you about this true survivor! Please send your suggestions to us via our Contact Us page.
Teens At-Risk Today By Jeff McKissack
Having taught the CHILD LURES program to over 250,000 kids. I witnessed that teens are every bit as "at-risk" as their younger counterparts. We think the targets are only our younger children. However, I have taught the same "lures" to college students, corporate executives, and kindergarteners. Why? Because the lures work regardless of whom the targeted victim may be, regardless of age, and regardless of gender. Most teens and adults suffer victimization of the crimes in part due to the fact we have somehow communicated (through lack of communication) that because they are "grown up" they know better then to fall prey to these common lures. I think now we are all learning this is not true.
We must balance our messages of safety and crime prevention to our teenage populous. As Dateline NBC continues to point out, teens are being targeted, they are being exploited, and currently they are being ignored by most well meaning educators and prevention programs.
However, the best prevention is also still the most effective and most cost-effective: it involves the parents. Not just the parents that monitor their teen's activities but also the ones that take an actual interest in those activities. Parents who support their teen's dreams, interests, hobbies, and friends are going to be far less likely to have their teen victimized by those with less than honorable intentions. Also, the parent that takes the time to network with other such parents has now increased their own effectiveness exponentially. Whether this is achieved through church, the PTA/PTF, or simply getting to know your neighbors, it outweighs any program the government or state will ever implement in the schools. Finally, the parent that early on establishes a no-holds barred approach to communication whereby "secrets" from mom and dad become non-existent has won the ultimate prize.
Parents: By whatever means you have to, I would implore you to learn whatever tactical skills you need to breech the subject of sex with your pre-teen or teen. Time and time again when we interviewed those who exploit your children, they told us the same thing, "Show me a kid that knows nothing about sex and I'll show you my next victim." Sex is not a dirty secret (unless you let it become one), but rather it is a natural and beautiful part of life and procreation. Why in the world should you hesitate being the first to discuss this topic with your own son or daughter before someone else does? Why would you allow someone else the opportunity of instilling his or her moral feelings or judgments related to sex in your son or daughter before you do? I was always told in high school sports "The best defense is a good offense." It holds true for this topic as well.
You will get 101 quick, simple and -- most importantly -- proven success secrets from the top experts in the world and gain access to the greatest treasures of all time - the gold nuggets of success. Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracey, Jim Rohn, Darren L. Johnson, Denis Waitley, and our very own Predators Survivor Hero, Margie Warrell, plus many other leading experts have all contributed their knowledge to this great compilation.
About the Author - This great collection of work, with 101 contributing authors was compiled, selected, and introduced by David Riklan. He is president and founder of Self Improvement Online, Inc.
Survivors Corner
Thank you for writing - we love hearing from you! Each month we will post your thoughts and suggestions for healing in this section of the newsletter.
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.
Try to love the questions themselves.
Do not now seek the answers to questions that cannot be given,
Because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is to live everything.
Live the questions now.
Perhaps you will gradually, without noticing it,
live along some distant day into the answers.
Rainer Maria Rilke
If you have something to share, please send it to us via our Contact Us page.
Do you have a question or comment about a particular type of crime?
to the Predators Crime Prevention Specialist - Retired Officer Carl Duke!
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This site is for parents who are raising children at risk. Here you will find information about the genetic risk for antisocial personality. It presents the latest scientific findings about how to overcome this condition.
Single Women:
Be careful whom you allow to move into your home. Many women believe they can just tell their boyfriend to move out if things do not work out. However, once the man moves one thing into the home it takes civil pares to move him out. Please also, check to see if this person has a police record before you invite someone to live with you. Be extra cautious if you have children. I'm a police officer and have seen this scenario happen over and over again. Officer Ropollo
Recommended Link:
Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft -
www.ftc.gov
In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge tickets to a ball game, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. Chances are you don't give these everyday transactions a second thought. But an identity thief does.
Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of a good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims of identity theft may lose job opportunities, be refused loans for education, housing, or cars, and even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit. Humiliation, anger, and frustration are among the feelings victims experience as they navigate the process of rescuing their identity.
If you have been a victim of a predator related crime and would like to submit your story for the Predators book, please send it to us at info@predators.tv.
It's Time for Us to Fight - for Children, for Real! Please join the National Association to Protect Children at www.protect.org.
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