Forgiveness is one of the hardest things we are asked to do.

Not the easy kind of forgiveness where someone says “I’m sorry” and everything is resolved.

I’m talking about the kind of forgiveness that feels impossible — the kind that follows betrayal, abandonment, trauma, and wounds that change the course of your life.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• How do I forgive someone who hurt me deeply?

• How do I forgive when the person never apologizes?

• How do I heal from trauma that changed my life?

You are not alone.

Forgiveness has been one of the most difficult journeys of my life.

And it began with a story I never expected.

My Story: Kidnapped at Age Seven

When I was seven years old, my biological father kidnapped me and took me to Jordan.

My parents had divorced when I was only four weeks old, and my mother had full custody. We lived in the Dallas area, and life seemed normal.

Until the day my father took me.

He refused to bring me home.

At that time there was no treaty between the United States and Jordan to return kidnapped children. The government could not help.

My mother refused to give up.

She eventually hired former military veterans who agreed to attempt something incredibly dangerous — a rescue mission to bring me home.

By the grace of God and through extraordinary courage, I was rescued and brought back to the United States.

To this day, I am believed to be the first and only child ever returned from Jordan through a rescue mission like this.

But the rescue was only the beginning.

Trauma Doesn’t End When the Crisis Ends

People often assume that once I was rescued, everything became normal again.

But trauma doesn’t work that way.

After returning home we had to:

• live in hiding

• change our last name

• move frequently

• rebuild our lives from scratch

My mom spent every dollar she had to bring me home.

Years later, while writing my upcoming book, I found a childhood journal from when I was nine.

Inside was a drawing I made of the rescue.

I had drawn:

• a school bus

• my mom standing outside

• the men who rescued me

• the moment I was taken off that bus

Even at nine years old, I was trying to process what had happened.

And inside that journal were prayers asking God to do something I wasn’t ready for yet.

To heal my relationship with my father.

Why Forgiveness Felt Impossible

Growing up, I wrestled with a question many people struggle with:

Why do I have to forgive someone who hurt me?

I was the child.

I didn’t cause what happened.

Why was forgiveness my responsibility?

For years I believed several lies about forgiveness.

Lie #1: Forgiveness means forgetting

There was no way I could forget what happened.

Every memory brought anger and pain.

I thought remembering meant I had failed at forgiving.

Lie #2: Forgiveness means what they did was okay

It wasn’t okay.

What happened to me should never happen to any child.

Forgiveness does not excuse wrongdoing.

Lie #3: Forgiveness means weakness

I believed forgiving meant giving up my anger.

But in reality, forgiveness takes more strength than holding onto bitterness ever will.

The Story of Joseph: A Powerful Example of Forgiveness

One of the most powerful stories of forgiveness in the Bible is the story of Joseph.

Joseph was betrayed by the very people who should have protected him — his brothers.

They:

• threw him into a pit

• sold him into slavery

• told their father he was dead

Joseph was only 17 years old.

He was separated from his family for more than 20 years.

He was enslaved.

He was falsely accused.

He was imprisoned.

Yet through all of it, God was with him.

Eventually Joseph rose to power in Egypt and became responsible for storing grain before a massive famine.

Years later, the same brothers who betrayed him came to Egypt seeking food.

They bowed before Joseph — not realizing who he was.

Joseph had the power to punish them.

Instead, he chose forgiveness.

“What You Meant for Harm, God Used for Good”

When Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers, he said something remarkable.

He told them:

“Do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”
— Genesis 45

Joseph understood something many of us struggle to see.

God can redeem even the most painful stories.

That doesn’t mean the pain was good.

It means God is greater than the pain.

What Forgiveness Really Means

For a long time I believed forgiveness was about letting my father off the hook.

I was wrong.

Forgiveness was about freeing my own heart.

When I finally surrendered my pain to God, something began to change.

The heaviness lifted.

The bitterness softened.

The isolation faded.

Forgiveness didn’t erase the past.

But it released me from being trapped by it.

If You’re Struggling to Forgive

Maybe you’re reading this and thinking:

• You don’t know what happened to me.

• My wounds run too deep.

• I can’t forgive.

I understand.

Forgiveness is not a one-time moment.

It is a journey of surrender.

Sometimes it looks like praying the same prayer over and over:

“God, I don’t know how to forgive.
But I give this pain to you.”

And slowly, God begins to heal the places we thought would never recover.

Your Story Isn’t Over

Joseph’s story didn’t end in betrayal.

It ended in redemption.

And yours can too.

No matter what you’ve been through, your story is not finished.

God still writes redemption stories.

My Upcoming Book Is A True Story of Rescue and Forgiveness

Over the past year I have been writing the full story of my childhood kidnapping, rescue, and healing journey.

The book will release Fall 2026 and shares:

• the full rescue mission

• the years of trauma and rebuilding

• the journey of forgiveness

• how God redeemed what once felt impossible

If you want to be the first to hear about the book release, upcoming interviews, and new podcast episodes, make sure you subscribe to updates on my website.

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