#healinginprogress

Even in the Delay, Jesus Is Working Deep Within You.

After two years, I shared a drink again with my coworkers. The last time was November 2023. I’ve been trying to avoid alcohol, but sometimes, pakikisama becomes its own language of connection. And for that moment, I allowed myself to be present.

This month also brought me back to old friendships — I reunited with my high school friends, and it felt like coming home to a version of myself I almost forgot. 🤍

At the same time, we slowly continued fixing our house. It’s not perfect yet — there’s still so much to improve — but compared to last December, I can finally see the difference. Progress, no matter how small, is still progress. Now, I’m looking forward to something new — a summer trip. ☀️ So today, April 1, marks my Day 1.

I’m currently 43–44 kg, and I’m giving myself three weeks to become a better version of me — not just physically, but mentally too. Showing up. Staying consistent. Trying again. Fighting. 🤍 And beyond my own little world, I’m quietly hoping for something bigger — peace. I pray for an end to conflicts, for lighter days, and for a world where no one has to struggle just to live. May the coming days be softer. Kinder. Better — for all of us. 🌏✨

Looking up reminds me how small my worries are. 🌿

Minsan kailangan ko lang tumingala — to breathe, to pause, to remember na may mas malaking mundo kaysa sa mga problems ko. The trees don’t rush. The sky doesn’t compete. Everything grows quietly, in its own time.

And maybe that’s my reminder today — I don’t have to hurry. I don’t have to figure everything out all at once. Tulad ng mga punong ito, I’m allowed to grow slowly, deeply, and steadily.

There are parts of my story that still don’t make sense.

Being four years old. Being taken. Being abandoned. Being moved from place to place, like I didn’t belong anywhere.

Adopted twice. Hoping each time that this would finally be “home.” Only to find more pain waiting behind closed doors.

People see the titles now. Author. Advocate. Speaker. But they don’t always see the little girl who wondered why she wasn’t wanted.

Trauma doesn’t just disappear. It lingers in your nervous system. It whispers lies in quiet moments. It tries to convince you that what happened to you defines you.

For a long time, I believed that lie.

Until I realized something powerful:

I survived what was meant to break me.

Not because I was strong every day. Not because I never cried. Not because I had it all figured out.

But because God kept me.

Even when I didn’t understand Him. Even when I questioned Him. Even when I felt forgotten.

There is something sacred about surviving. It means the story isn’t over.

It means the trauma didn’t win. It means the system didn’t get the final word. It means abuse didn’t get to decide my identity.

I am not what happened to me. I am who I chose to become after it.

And if you’re reading this wondering whether you can survive your story too—

You can.

You are still here. And that alone means something powerful.

Healing isn’t instant. Faith isn’t always loud. Strength doesn’t always look strong.

Sometimes it looks like getting out of bed. Sometimes it looks like going to therapy. Sometimes it looks like crying and praying at the same time.

But you’re still here.

And that means God is not finished writing.

✨ From abandoned to authored. ✨ From trauma to testimony. ✨ From brokenness to becoming.

One page at a time.

📖 What God Did Next

Dana was four years old when she was kidnapped— stuffed into a rice sack and trafficked across India. She never saw her parents again.

Years later, she was adopted into a home in the United States. She hoped for safety. She longed for love.

Instead, she faced abuse, torment, and darkness that felt suffocating.

She carried trauma in her body. Fear in her mind. Questions in her heart.

Until one day—broken, exhausted, and desperate— she cried out to Jesus.

Not a polished prayer. Not a perfect church sentence. Just a cry.

And He answered.

By name.

Not with condemnation. Not with shame. But with presence.

What the enemy meant for destruction, God began rewriting for purpose.

Her story didn’t end in trauma. It turned into testimony.

Fitness Journal — 2026‑02‑20

• Round: 3

• Doses: 5

• Steps: 2,884

• Distance: 1.77 KM

• Move: 70 / 200 KCAL