Steps of Liberation : Paths to Wholesome Freedom - Part 5

She was surviving, not living - until healing showed up in red lipstick, quiet prayers, and belly laughs. This is a story of becoming whole, one small act at a time.

When Healing Looks Like Her

There was a time I didn’t recognize myself ;

Not because I had changed, but because I had disappeared.

In the mirror, I saw the outlines of a woman holding it together - carefully. Her smiles were practiced. Her clothes, muted. Her spirit… quiet.

She was surviving.

But she wasn’t living.

And then one morning, in that same mirror, I saw someone else.

She looked familiar - not like the woman I was, but the woman I was becoming.

Healing, it turns out, has a face.

Blossoming in Pieces

She showed up in small ways first — in the way I started making my bed with intention. In the way I played music while cooking, dancing in the kitchen like I used to when joy was still my companion.

She returned when I finally said “no” and didn’t feel the need to explain.

When I wore cherry lipstick to the grocery store just because.

When I deleted old texts and screenshots, cleared WhatsApp Chats and stopped re-reading pain.

Healing looked like her - the woman who began to take up space again.

“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.”

- Sophia Bush

Embracing the New Me

There’s a kind of grief that comes with letting go of the woman you were -even if that woman was hurting.

But there’s also a quiet joy in meeting yourself again.

I started talking to God differently - not just about what I had lost, but about who He was showing me I could become. I stopped asking Him to “fix it,” and began asking Him to “form me.”

I stopped measuring my progress by timelines and started celebrating the small wins:

• I made it through the week without crying? That’s healing.
• I set a boundary and stuck to it? That’s healing.
• I laughed from my belly today? That’s healing.

“Healing isn’t about becoming the person you were before the hurt — it’s about embracing the person who emerged after.”

- Unknown

She Is Me

This woman - the one who sings again, prays again, dreams again - she is me.

Not perfect.

Not finished.

But fully becoming.

Healing isn’t loud. It isn’t always visible. Sometimes it’s as simple as breathing deeply without panic or waking up without dread. Sometimes it’s just choosing not to look back today.

And sometimes, it’s recognizing that God never asked me to return to who I was.

He’s inviting me to rise into someone new - someone wiser, freer, and more aligned with His purpose.

To the Woman Still Searching

If you're still wondering when healing will show up - take a closer look.

She might already be there.

In the journal entry you finally wrote.

In the walk you took without tears.

In the friend you dared to trust again.

She may not look like what you expected. But healing wears many faces - and one of them is yours.

“She remembered who she was and the game changed.”

- Lalah Delia

Let’s Celebrate the Becoming....

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“Healing is not a destination. It’s a daily becoming - and I’m finally learning to wear joy and laughter without apology.” — Yvey Essen