Ursula Crable Walking in Her Purpose BY TAMANI LUCY-THOMPSON Young Ursula Ursula Crable sits back on her couch at the Freeman House and willfully discloses she was the result of her mother’s calculated attempt to trap her father into staying in an unhealthy relationship. She was born at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. While most mothers eagerly anticipated their new arrivals, baby Ursula had to be rescued by her maternal grandmother because her mother discarded this new life within hours of her birth. Her grandma covered her in prayer and did her best to provide. Ursula recalls living with her grandmother and uncle when the first day of kindergarten approached. Instead of a vision of welcoming smiles and cheerful faces, Ursula remembers her uncle leading her into the filthy hands of a perpetrator. At the tender age of 5, she was robbed of her innocence. Her uncle pimped her out for drugs and money, and convinced her she had to keep his heinous secret because she was nasty. She held on to the secret out of fear and endured this unimaginable exploitation for five long years. The trafficking came to an abrupt halt after her family moved to another location, though not before Ursula developed a disdain for older men and a disgust with certain scents she smelled on them. Burying her secret, Ursula became sexually active as a teenager and soon became pregnant. Her grandmother and mother, unwilling to accept Ursula having a child before marriage, sent her away to a home that hid the secrets of unwed pregnancies. No one consulted 15-year-old Ursula before, at six months pregnant, she was separated from her 16-year-old boyfriend and relocated to a place called “Home of the Redeeming Love,” designed specifically for unwed mothers. After delivering a healthy baby boy, she was pushed into relinquishing all rights as a parent and watched as he was removed from her arms. After being discharged, Ursula was forced to reunite with her mother in California. Her resentment toward the woman who had been absent for most of her life made the situation volatile, and one altercation with her mother landed Ursula on the streets. Unwilling to let her mother witness her pain, she hastily moved in with her then-boyfriend. His mother was adamant they be married if Ursula were to live with them. Her boyfriend soon proposed, and after she agreed, his family effortlessly arranged a wedding in their back yard, with Ursula’s mother giving permission since she was a minor. Married at 17, without any guidance or examples of healthy relationships, she didn’t recognize any warning signs. Her new husband was possessive and jealous. He was unfaithful, but often accused her of infidelity. She assumed his adulterous behavior was normal. He also began to physically abuse her, and she couldn’t understand why his family, who claimed to love her, never intervened. As a child, no one was there to help Ursula. ENVISIONPROVENSUCCESS.COM | 15
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