I read a quote that said,

A recent storm blew through my community, and its fierce winds blew my potted plants topsy turvy all across my porch. One of my pots was cracked and broken; however, the resilient plant survived. The wind ripped the tops of the clover right out of this same pot. However, much to my amazement, the roots of the clover found a crack in the side of the pot. It then miraculously followed that light to full sunshine and continued to grow. Clover represents Faith, Hope, and Love. The four-leaf clover represents the Grace of God according to Biblical references.

As I watched this remarkable feat, it made me think of my friend Donna Green, who experienced an unbelievable trauma but managed to find a crack in the hard rock of adversity. Five days after the birth of her son Raymond, her baby boy was stolen from her by a stranger. Donna met this stranger at the hospital and instantly trusted this woman who was so kind to her. When Donna returned home with her newborn, Lisa, the woman she met at the hospital, showed up unexpectedly at her home. Donna was out of the room for only a few minutes, leaving the baby in the living room with Lisa and her older brother when she went upstairs to change clothes. Her brother dozed off, and within minutes Lisa and the baby were gone, never to be seen again.

Donna was only sixteen years old and felt severely depressed, lost, and alone. That was forty-three years ago. How does any mother survive such a tragic loss?! But survive, she did by turning her pain into advocacy for other parents with missing children and by devoting her love to her other six children. Although over four decades have passed, Donna has moved forward in life, but like a good shepherd, she refuses to give up hope of finding her one lost sheep, Raymond.

Donna Green is an active volunteer with Team Hope/National Center For Missing & Exploited Children, doing anything she can to support other victims of abducted children. She shows up to any event that will bring attention to abused, murdered, or missing children and uses her internet radio show to do the same. She shows up no matter the weather or how small the crowd. Donna is on a mission to help ease the pain of others, despite the remaining pain of her loss.

Since my early childhood, clover has always been fascinating to me. I used to spend hours searching through patches of clover to find an elusive four-leaf clover. Some people hate seeing clover in their lawns and treat them as unwanted weeds.  But I see so much beauty in clover and now marvel at its tenaciousness. My dear friend, Donna Green, has that same firmness of purpose and shows her determination in every movement she makes, just like the clover.

I consider it a blessing to have crossed paths with someone who survived what, for most, would be unbearable pain. Despite the pain, Donna has continued to move mountains to change the plight of others who experienced the same trauma that she has. But, by the Grace of God and like a rare four-leaf clover, she pushes forward to the light.