I'm still alive!

I've learned SOOOOOO much since I posted here last.... 

I'm still very tired and sore from the Impact (hands-on self-defense) class that I took Friday night through Sunday, but it is a good weariness and I'd do it all over again if I had the last weekend to relive!   The class was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be (both physically and emotionally), but it was just so good to work through those fears and I now have the confidence that I could get through a terrible situation with the skills that I learned and with the Lord's helping me to remember them. 

 We didn't get much sleep Friday or Saturday night, Lauretta and I, as we talked and talked about the skills we were learning and kept going over things in our minds.  We put out a lot of energy during our waking hours---fighting those giants, so it was such a good feeling to at last graduate yesterday afternoon and to know we could sit down and rest.  :) 

Here is a link to the video/article that was on the news last night about the class:  http://www.kxnet.com/story/21230016/womens-self-defense-class-makes-an-impact#.USMCFeGhw4g.facebook  .  The short video shows just a few of the skills we learned and is just a sampling of one of the many scenarios that each of we 12 women worked through.   The video was taken during our graduation, which was a time when we could invite our loved ones to come and watch what we'd learned.  Quite a few people showed up, plus the TV camera lady of course. 

 There was a special time yesterday when each woman could set up a scenario just as realistically as possible to be like what they most fear in life regarding an attack.   I don't think there was a dry eye in the room during those, especially when the woman whose turn it was asked for the rest of us to be quiet, so we couldn't cheer her on and just sat and watched her fight her most feared battle.   I set up my scenario to be when I was still working at the nursing home and got off of work at night and had to walk out to my car where it was pretty dark.  I put my coat on to make it more realistic and to see how much harder it would be to fight with the added bulk.  They turned all the lights off and just had a small door open a crack with a little light coming through.  I went in a side room that was "the nursing home".  I walked out and headed for my "car" ( a chair).  Suddenly, one of the guys came from behind me and grabbed me, pulling me to the ground.  I screamed for help, prayed for strength (I was already pretty sore at that point), then don't even remember everything that I did, but I eventually won the battle and called 911.  When the lights came back on, I had one shoe off and some of the contents of my coat pockets were scattered across the padded floor, but I'd faced my fear of being tackled in the dark---and won.        

It was a special time at the end of class when the 4 guys (who were our attackers) were in their every day clothes and shared with us how hard it is for them to do this too, to see us crying and still continue playing the part of the bad guy, but they know that they're helping us face our fears in a safe environment and so they volunteer their time and energy for our good. 

It was AMAZING to watch the confidence that these skills gave to each woman!  I believe every woman should know these skills as she has the right to protect herself and her loved ones....  And now, I'm ready for a good nights rest!!!