TRAUMA BECAME A PART OF MY STORY PRE-BIRTH. I WAS BORN TO A TEEN MOM & AN ABSENT FATHER WHO STRUGGLED WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE. WHILE I WAS WELL LOVED BY MY MOTHER, and SHE DID HER ABSOLUTE BEST, SHE TOO WAS BATTLING THE AFFECTS OF HER OWN TRauMA. OVER TIME IT LEFT HER COMPLETELY DEBILITATED WITH MULTIPLE MENTAL DISORDERS. I WAS LEFT WITH LOTS OF SUBCONSCIOUS WIRING OF NOT FEELING SAFE, BOTH EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY, BECAUSE OF THE THINGS I WITNESSED AND EXPERIENCED. THE EXPECTATIONS THAT WERE REQUIRED OF ME IN MY HOME WERE WAY BEYOND MY YEARS. SO I TURNED TO CHURCH, MY FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES FOR A SENSE OF SAFETY FROM THE TIME I WAS 8 YEARS OLD, AND INTO ADULTHOOD. I LEARNED TO ESCAPE WHAT I WAS EXPERIENCING BY RUNNING FROM HOME. BOTH PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY. IT WAS A BRILLIANT WAY TO SURVIVE. I NEVER FELT LIKE MY FRIENDS COULD RELATE TO MY STORY, AND THE CHURCH JUST TOLD ME TO PRAY MORE, READ MY BIBLE MORE, AND TO HAVE MORE FAITH. I WAS LEFT WITHOUT TOOLS OR THE GUIDE TO PROCESS WHAT I EXPERIENCED, LET ALONE HEAL. I SURVIVED DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPLEX TRAUMA, ALONG WITH MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE. I SUPPRESSED ALL THAT I HAD ENDURED FOR DECADES. I USED VERY SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE COPING STRATEGIES LIKE MINIMIZING, SERVING, PEOPLE PLEASING, PERFECTIONISM, AND OVER WORKING AS MY MEDICINE. IT WAS A BRILLIANT WAY TO SURVIVE, UNTIL MY BODY BEGAN TO CRY FOR RELIEF THROUGH THINGS LIKE CHRONIC IBS, HEADACHES, MIGRAINES, DIZZINESS, NAUSEA, SHOOTING PAINS, DISSOCIATION AND HORMONAL IMBALANCES TO NAME A FEW. I KNEW THAT NOT ONLY COULD I NOT CONTINUE TO LIVE LIKE THAT, I DIDN'T DESERVE TO. AND NEITHER DO YOU. I DON’T KNOW YOUR STORY, BUT I’M WILLING TO LISTEN. TO HEAR YOU. TO SEE YOU. WITNESS YOU. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, GUIDE YOU ON THE ROAD BACK HOME TO YOURSELF. TO COME ALONG SIDE YOU, HAND YOU TOOLS AND THE HEALING OINTMENT, SO THAT YOU CAN BEGIN TO MEND ALL THAT HAS BEEN BROKEN. FIND ALL THAT HAS BEEN LOST. AND TO REDEEM ALL THAT HAS BEEN STOLEN. BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT.