Chapter Two The Silence
There were things I couldn’ t explain … Moments I couldn’ t name. But I knew— deep in my spirit— that what was happening was not okay.
As a child, you don’ t have the vocabulary for trauma. You don’ t know how to say,“ This isn’ t love.”
You only know how to survive.
So, I grew audaciously quiet. Smiles became my shield. Silence, my survival.
I learned to dress pain in boldness and to bury my voice under layers of performance and procrastination.
Even then, I felt deeply. I gave freely. And, loved consistently. But behind the smile was a hidden ache, one that shaped how I saw myself … and how I believed others saw me.
No one heard the silent prayers whispered between broken sobs and childlike hope.
But God heard, as He always does, reminding me that hope dies last.
And while I didn’ t know it then, my silence was never empty, it was sacred ground.
It was the soil where strength would one day grow.
From Silence to Sovereignty- Maria DiGiovanni Page 9