Day Four

You may be asking, What does God have to do with this?
I’ll simply say — everything.

I can’t count on my fingers how many times He has spared my brothers. How many times they made it out of situations that should have cost them their lives.

Car wrecks, overdoses, run-ins with the law — things that easily could’ve ended in tragedy. But they didn’t. Not because of luck, but because of grace.

God has poured blessing after blessing into my life — even in the middle of heartbreak. Even in the silence, when it felt like my prayers hit the ceiling, He was working behind the scenes. I look back now and realize that He was with me through every sleepless night, every therapy session, every school day I had to push through with tears in my eyes. I was never alone — even when I felt like I was.

He was the one who gave me strength to keep going.
He gave me wisdom to set boundaries.
He gave me courage to say “enough.”
He gave me peace when my heart was breaking.

I’ve learned that sometimes God’s protection doesn’t look like what we expect. Sometimes it’s not the miracle of instant healing or sudden change. Sometimes it’s in the quiet unfolding of strength within ourselves. It’s in the clarity to walk away from what’s toxic. It’s in the realization that loving someone doesn’t mean sacrificing your own peace or well-being.

I still believe in healing. I still believe in redemption. And I still believe that my brothers’ stories aren’t finished — just like mine isn’t.
I will always pray for them. I will always love them.
But for now, that love must come from a distance.

And I’ve made peace with that.
Not because it’s easy — but because it’s necessary.