I allowed forgiveness to heal the pain I had inside

Eunice’s life was marked by pain and loneliness from a very young age. After her father’s passing, she felt lost and abandoned, and things only worsened when her mother remarried.

"I was just four years old when my father passed away. I remember feeling incredibly lonely, like I didn’t matter to anyone. When my mother married again, my life was turned upside down. My stepfather was cruel to me and used to beat me often, and many nights, I went to bed hungry. I still recall one day when I was so desperate that I picked up food from the floor just to have something to eat because I was so hungry.”

The sense of abandonment Eunice felt at home grew stronger over the years. Sometimes, she would disappear for days, even months, but no one ever seemed to notice or care.

"When I returned home, no one asked where I had been or if I was okay. That confirmed to me what I feared the most, that I wasn’t important to anyone. I eventually dropped out of school because I felt so hopeless,”she recalls.

At the age of 14, after enduring years of mistreatment, Eunice was finally taken in by her extended family. This was a turning point in her life. She also went back to school, although this presented its own challenges.

"I was much older than the other kids in my grade, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to learn. However, it wasn't easy. I kept to myself and felt out of place at school,”said Eunice. 

One day, a teacher at her school noticed how withdrawn she was and began reaching out to her. 

"My teacher  saw that I was different from the other kids because I was quiet and distant. She started talking to me, and I slowly opened up to her. Eventually, she invited me to attend services at the Universal Church with her, and I agreed,” she said.

Eunice started attending services in the church, and as her faith developed, she confronted the deep pain of her past. One of her greatest challenges was forgiving her mother for neglecting her all those years.

"As I grew in my faith and continued coming to the church, I learned about forgiveness and how important it is. I couldn’t move forward unless I let go of all that anger. I prayed to God to help me forgive my mother and give me the strength I needed to change my life.

When I finally forgave her, I felt like the weight I had carried for years was finally lifted, and I experienced peace for the first time in my life,” said Eunice.