An Epiphany from the Beyond

Have you ever had a moment where the universe seemed to speak just to you?

I call it an epiphany.

According to Merriam-Webster, an epiphany is a sudden, clear realization or discovery about the core meaning of something.

It happened to me when I was eight years old, and it felt like an almost outward experience. Something that only happens on TV and story books.

At the time, I was totally broken.

I wanted to die.

The pain of living was too much.

There was nobody real that I could trust.

My so-called father had hurt me and left me alone.

He turned off the electricity, so I stood in the pitch dark in his apartment. I was sobbing with relief as he left, leaving only the smell of his aftershave behind.

It was a starry night. Late summer. Rivulets of water flooded the streets after a pour down and gathered into larger puddles.

His feet splashed across the parking lot. He kept walking, further away from me.

The further away he got, the easier I could breathe.

He got to his car and drove away. His red lights growing fainter as I traced it until I could see it no more.

I breathed out for the first time in a while. I didn’t realize that I was holding my breath. My pain threatened to choke me, until I let out a scream like a strangled cat. I cried so hard, my chest hurt and I collapsed on a heap on the floor. It was dark down there in between the giant furniture around me. I felt their weight even though they didn’t touch me.

My eyes looked up, seeking the light from the starlit sky. I stood up and tried to recall what the constellations were that we’d learned about in school.

I couldn’t remember so I traced my eyes over what could make a pattern. My mind focused on three stars next to each other, and then I saw it at the corner of my right eye. A star traveled swiftly across the sky as if someone had smeared it with a thin pencil with a slight tail dragging behind like a shadow.

I saw a shooting star.

It was beautiful, and it filled my chest with something I cannot explain. In that moment, I knew my life would get better. I knew that I would get away from my so-called father. I knew I would be happy one day.

In that moment, I was enough and that he would never break me again.

In future years, I drew on that experience when all was lost and I had no hope. I knew that I would laugh again.

I believed it, and so it became true.

But my journey wasn’t easy. I had to fight for what I wanted. I had to be strong when life didn’t go my way. I had to survive when people used me and let me down. I had to believe it every single day.

I learned to forgive and move on.

The greatest gift that you have comes from within you.

Listen to your heart.

What is it that you believe in?

Where is your life taking you?

There’s a new sunrise, every day and with that morning glow comes endless possibilities for a happy day.

It starts with you thinking and focusing on what to make of it. Grab that opportunity with both hands and go out there, happy!

Remember that you are not alone.

You’ve got this.

My name is Lizzy. I’m a trauma survivor, a wife, a mom, a teacher, and an author.

If you like reading my posts, then please follow me.

For more about me: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com

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