ROOTED RENEGADE

Night after night she goes home alone

Sometimes the memories plague her mind

Of all the things in her life gone awry.

People consistently telling her to stop just surviving

Time to thrive

Time to shine

Because they can only see her scars in black and white.

They don’t see the courage she begs God for some days

They don’t see the strength 

She hits her knees and tearfully prays

Not living her life as an insider 

Nor as just a bystander.

Caught in a crossfire

Peering through the window of life

While it skipped their house

Bypassed their DNA

Snatched the innocence

Leaving her betrayed.

All the price tags since removed

The brokenness still a part of who she is

But able to find love in herself again

Able to see that her Heavenly Daddy loved her too.

Just because others don’t see

She knows…

No longer does she have to wear black high heeled shoes.

2019 @b3autifullyr3deemed

When we as survivors realize we no longer have to wear the figurative or literal parts of ourselves that kept us bound, there is freedom. There will be times during our healing process in which we feel very overwhelmed by memories, anxieties, emotional triggers, etc. They are real and no one can tell us any different. What we understand about them, is that because they are real, we can heal from them. We can learn to choose a different path for ourselves that allow ourselves freedom in surrender. Christ offers us that freedom. Is it easy? No. I will not sugar coat the healing process for any survivor of trafficking. It is hard, nitty gritty, down right ugly sometimes. Nothing worth having in life will come easy. Hard moments do not set you back, unless you let them. Christ gives us the most beautiful depictions of true grit and strength in His word that guide us in our processes. So don’t give up on your journey. Dive in and dig deep! Carry on and never ever turn back. There are many like you and me that keep fighting because no matter how far we get in our journey, some days just aren’t easy. That is okay. Many people have hard days (they are lying if they say they don’t). Christ knows our hearts. He knows our capacity to heal and then carry that to others. Be a conduit for change, love, and healing. But most importantly, love Christ, love yourself, then carry the message of love and hope to others so they can heal too!

Written originally in 2019, Updated 04/05/2020