The Blessing of Hope

Never Give Up Hope

On the Never Give Up Hope podcast we share stories of everyday people who refused to give up hope in the middle of insurmountable circumstances; people who have transformed their lives and want to give you their secrets of success. Their message is one of hope, encouragement, laughter and inspiration. It was a privilege to be invited to share my story of transformation.

Sharing My Story

After introducing me, The host asked me to share my story of abuse.

All I can remember was the disconnection from my biological mother who was very rough with me. She was neither nice, nor pleasant. I experienced it and never understood why she was not very affectionate. Mentally there was the disconnection and I yearned for her to just validate me, let me know the she cares, I am her child and she loved me.

I shared the story of the violent traumatic physical altercation between them that led to me being dropped off with my aunt. I told my story of separation at 5 and the emotion was very hard to go through. The emotional scars had to heal as well as the pain and rejection.

The host asked how I was coping with it at that young age.

My adopted parents had a Christian foundation that really helped me cope. They formed a foundation of spirituality, of prayer, of God, of scriptures and that really helped me cope. And they lived it! I never heard them have a chaotic argument compared to the parents that I came from. Yes they disagreed, it wasn’t a perfect marriage but there was no chaos, no cursing, or physical abuse that I had seen from my real parents. They started that foundation of teaching me and modeling the love of Christ.

Finding Resilience

Children are resilient. It was more confusing but there was something within. I remember telling them not to cut off the lights because I was afraid of the dark but I remember there was something within my spirit and I believe it was just God reassuring me at that time that I was going to be ok.

The host asked what I have to say to encourage others who have been through the pain to move forward.

It is not your responsibility, how another individual treats you. It is your own actions that you are responsible for. Acknowledging that will lift a lot of guilt, shame and burden. Once I freed myself of the guilt of others, I had to also accept everything that happened and free myself.

The Blessing of Hope

“I had to find self-love and acceptance within in order to heal from my trauma. It is about accepting and embracing that which is beyond our control because we still have a long road ahead and so much more to look forward to.”

I had to go through the process of accepting me and how I was created and what I was created for. To love and to be loved. I had to really stop worrying about and trying to get validation from everyone else and just love me for who I am.

Watch the full interview on Apple by clicking here