HOPE FOR BETTER DAYS AHEAD

OFFER HOPE to the HURTING and ABUSED

We must acknowledge people's pain while also offering hope for better days ahead. We have a platform for doing so when our own lives have been scarred by hurtful experiences, we are dealing with it, and moving forward in our recovery and healing. This gives validity to our message of hope. I know about this.

I've lived it. I can speak to it. I identify with the angst. I want to help: wherever, whomever, whatever.  I mean it, through and through.

I once had a student who I had concerns for. I was wondering if she was being sexually abused. I didn't know what to look for other than the obvious signs. I asked a special education teacher for advice. She gave me some specifics and then shared a story about a speaker in the field that had impacted her.

The speaker was a survivor of horrible abuse. She said that no one ever told her that it was wrong the way she was being treated, not her teachers, school personnel, or knowledgeable people. It was hurtful that no one validated her, even after it was known. That was the takeaway my teacher friend gained. 

Her comments stayed with me. Hope is the first step toward healing. I think we bear responsibility in offering solidarity in the healing journey. This can be of great benefit to all. Glad for everyone who adds to this poignant conversation. We can validate, encourage, and help. Compassion is where it starts, and ends.

Let's live it together.

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Have a blessed day.