RADV Presents: The Ripple Effect
Changing Tomorrow by Investing in Today Series #18: Don’t Teach Them to Keep the Family Secret There’s an old message many children grow up hearing: “What happens in this house stays in this house.” Sometimes that means ordinary family privacy. But sometimes it teaches something far more dangerous. Silence. A child may begin believing that […]
When You Have to Face Your Abuser in Court
The night before court, you may lay out your clothes, check the time and place, and try to remember everything you want to say. Then your thoughts return to the hardest part: you may have to see the person who hurt you. Your stomach tightens. You wonder whether your voice will shake or whether you […]
Using Your Voice, One Safe Step at a Time
There may have been a time when speaking honestly came with a cost. Maybe your words were interrupted, twisted, mocked, or used against you. After enough of that, silence can begin to feel safer. If that sounds familiar, there is nothing wrong with you. You learned how to get through something difficult. Finding your voice […]
The Fork in the Road: When the Familiar Path Is No Longer Safe
There comes a moment in many survivors’ lives when the road seems to divide—and neither direction feels easy. One direction is familiar. You know every turn, every warning sign and every place where the road becomes rough. It may be painful, frightening and exhausting—but you have learned how to survive it. The other direction leads […]
Understanding the Importance of Your Safety
There may come a point when you realize that the way you are being treated is not healthy, loving, or safe. That realization can be frightening. It can also be the first mile toward freedom. When you are living with abuse, it is easy to minimize what is happening. You may tell yourself the situation […]
🙏🏼 An RADV Sunday Prayer
Heavenly Father, Today we lift up every survivor who is hurting, healing, rebuilding, or simply trying to make it through another day. Be close to the person who feels alone. Give courage to the one who is afraid to take the next step. Bring peace to the home filled with uncertainty, protection to those seeking […]
Before There Was RADV
Final Chapter: We Are the Bridge For the past several weeks, I’ve taken you down roads I spent years trying not to look back on. I’ve told you about abuse. About ten dollars. About being dragged outside a bar and beaten. About waking up in a hospital unable to speak and seeing John Doe written […]
RADV Presents: The Ripple Effect
Changing Tomorrow by Investing in Today Series #17: Teach Them How to Disagree Without Disrespect Two people can love each other and still disagree. They can see a situation differently. They can have different opinions, different needs, and different ways of looking at the world. The problem isn’t disagreement. It’s what we choose to do […]
Waiting Is the Hardest Part
There are moments when you have done everything you know to do—and all that remains is waiting. Waiting for the phone call. Waiting for test results. Waiting for a court date. Waiting for an opening at a shelter. Waiting for someone to believe you. Waiting for the paperwork to go through. Waiting for life to […]
When the Project Is You
Remember when you finally finished a project and stepped back to see what you had accomplished? What if the project was you? There is a special feeling that comes when you finish something you worked hard on. Maybe it was rebuilding an old motorcycle, painting a room, planting a garden, writing a book, earning a […]