Plans may have been sour for my parents, but I know that God still has good plans for me as I share my story with the world.  When I was  returned to my family I remember the person that found me saying” It’s alright you are safe now!”, but I can say that I was not unharmed. I clearly remember riding home from the hospital and thinking that this is something that I will never forget and as I reflect now, it was the first step to healing.  This was not just a healing process for only for me, this was a process for my family as well. Healing from the many months in court, the re-telling of my story, and   reliving kidnapping everyday that someone asked me if I was ok, just because they were being nosey or the story they heard on the streets was confirmed.

As my family moved forward, the advice from the therapist  to my parents was to keep my life as normal as possible. My parents chose to not allow my trauma to be the center of attention until it was necessary. I have never been restricted from talking about my story, but I could see the hurt and the pain that it caused my parents, so I felt the need to be silent. Even though was safe and was assured that no one would ever hurt me, I did not share the same sentiments that I would ever be kidnapped again. So my journey continues through childhood up until now of the healthy and unhealthy ways that I have coped with trauma. There have been steps and choices that I have made so I could learn and understand about the good plans that God has in store for my future.