Note from the author

There comes a moment in healing when you realize you’re no longer tending to the wounds of your inner child —

you’re standing as the woman she grew into.

For a long time, speaking the truth felt like survival.

Silence felt dangerous.

Not because I was hiding anything — but because I was taught that truth must always be spoken or it would be lost.

What I understand now is this:

Truth does not disappear when it is held with discernment.

And silence is not the same as lying.

Healthy boundaries didn’t take my voice away.

They gave it choice.

This realization marked a turning point for me — not a step backward into childhood, but a step forward into adulthood. Into wisdom. Into steadiness. Into trust.

I don’t resent the years I spent healing my inner child.

In many ways, I was given the honor of keeping my childhood a little longer than others.

And I needed every bit of that time.

But today, the why no longer matters to me.

What matters is who I am becoming —

a woman grounded in truth, guided by discernment, and aligned with the person God always intended me to be.

This chapter is not about revisiting the past.

It’s about standing fully present in the woman I am now.

Shared from lived experience, not professional advice.