To Write Hope from Hurt

Fear can be a powerful author of our stories. It has the ability to immobilize each of us. Fear can overwhelm, overshadow, debilitate. It nestles quickly into the pores of our skin and wants to make itself at home. Twelve-year-old Elisa is not unfamiliar with co-existing with fear. She is a young girl coming from a hard place. Thankfully, there was a safe place for her to temporarily stay. The one year Elisa spent at San Jose children’s home allowed her family access to Back2Back’s Children and Families in Transition Program that eventually led to her being reunited with her mom Wendy.

Elisa, now an outgoing, upbeat, social, young girl, suffered from lack of sleep for many long months as a result of thinking about the pain she’d experienced prior to entering the children’s home. She lost sleep and, when she was able to sleep, was often gripped by nightmares. The therapy Elisa was able to get as a sponsored child at San Jose began to help her see a path towards healing and helped Elisa develop a desire for the foundation of her story to be built on freedom, not fear.

Darlene, Elisa’s family’s Back2Back caseworker, has been sharing the liberation Jesus offers with her during their weekly devotions, but it wasn’t until recently Elisa realized this freedom He provides was hers for the taking. She decided she wanted to invite Jesus into her fear, knowing He, and He alone, could rid her of unease and lace the threads of her story with hope.

Elisa, now home with her family, knows she isn’t alone. She is protected, and she knows her God is much bigger than any of her fears. Elisa trusts her Father who hears her fears, drives out old hurts, and protects and comforts her continually.

Elisa knows the God who made her and created her for more. She is a girl sure of herself, possessing more security, and trusts she will be equipped when encountered with difficult situations in the future.

Trusting in a Savior who redeems and writes hope from hurt, Elisa is becoming an even more determined girl. She continues to work on moving forward, regardless of her circumstances, toward achieving her dreams and being just who her Lord has designed her to be.